Heroes and Legacies Book 1: The Prodigal Son
by pegasusdmac
Summary: When the dreams began, I knew my life was about to change. My parents warned me this day might come, but still, I wasn't quite prepared for everything that was about to happen. My name is Chase Jackson, and this is where my adventure begins.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This fic, _The Prodigal Son_, is the first in a 6-book series. This series, _Heroes and Legacies_, is designed so it can be read as either the sequel to _The First Legion Series_ or on its own. If you haven't read my other series, don't worry, you won't be lost (though you _could_ read that series, anyway ;) Being the first book in the series and because it's a completely OC fic, it's a little rough around the edges, but it should smooth out by book two. I've posted information about this series, my other fics, and upcoming fics on my profile, if anyone's interested.**

**Thanks for reading, enjoy, and be sure to check out my other fics.**

**-dmac**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HO.**

1. A Change of Plans

I woke from my nightmare drenched in a cold sweat. I'd had nightmares before, but nothing like this. For five straight nights I'd had the same dream, and it was beginning to freak me out.

"Chase!" I heard my dad yell my name from somewhere downstairs.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and rolled out of bed. I slipped a tank on with my pj pants, then headed downstairs to see what my dad wanted.

"Chase, are you up?" my dad called out.

I ran my hand through my mop of black hair as I made my way into the kitchen where Dad was pouring himself a cup of coffee. I've never understood why my dad thinks he needs coffee. He was wired anyway without all the caffeine, but me, I could sure use a cup. I sat down on a stool at the breakfast bar and yawned.

"Not sleep well?" Dad asked as he handed me a cup of coffee. Apparently, it was obvious I needed one.

"Not really," I told him, then I took a drink of the steaming-hot beverage. "I've been having weird dreams the last few nights."

Dad sipped his coffee and looked at me like he was looking at himself thirty years ago, which wasn't hard, I suppose; I looked so much like him. We had the same messy, black hair, the same athletic build, and the same perpetual sarcasm, but I inherited my creepy gray eyes and my overanalyzing mind from my mother.

Speaking of my mother, "Where's Mom?"

"She had to run to the office for a minute," Dad said.

No surprise there, she's a bit of a workaholic. Saturday mornings aren't even off limits for her to make a quick trip to her architecture firm to check up on all her current projects.

I was still sipping my coffee when I felt something cool and wet touch the top of my foot. I looked down to see the dog nudging my foot with his nose. "You need to go for a walk, boy?" I asked our dog, and he whimpered, which I took as a _yes_.

"Chase, if you grab a paper while you're out, I'll cook you some pancakes," Dad bargained.

That was a no-brainer. Dad made the best pancakes in the world, well, except for maybe Nana's.

"Sure," I smiled as he handed me a couple bucks.

"And we can talk about your dreams over breakfast," he added.

I nodded to my dad, then walked to the front door where I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my Mets cap off the rack. Now, I know what you're thinking: Mets? What the hell? But Mom had this stupid Yankees cap she never let me wear, and for good reason I discovered, so I wore a Mets cap. I clipped the leash onto Iolaus' collar and led my twenty-pound white terrier out the door.

I say he was my dog, but Dad actually bought him for Mom. When she finally decided to give up on getting pregnant again after three years of trying everything and calling Hera things that should never _ever_ be repeated, Dad brought home a puppy. It was a nice gesture, and Mom loved the dog to death, but somehow I'd been stuck with the responsibility of taking care of him. Don't get me wrong, he was a cool dog, a little firecracker, but a Westie…not the breed I would've picked. I would've gotten a Great Dane or a Doberman, a big dog. I mean, not as big as Dad's hellhound, who, by the way, didn't live with us in our Brownstone here in Manhattan.

I grabbed the Saturday copy of the Times, and after the dog did his business, we went back home. When I walked in the door, I noticed Mom was back from the office. I unclasped the leash from Iolaus' collar and hung it on the rack by the front door, along with my baseball cap. Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen, and I overheard some of their conversation.

"Did he say what the dreams were about?" my mom asked my dad.

"We're supposed to talk about it over breakfast," he told her.

"Percy," Mom sounded worried. "If…if the dreams…"

"I know," Dad sounded worried, too. "It may be time to send him to camp."

"I think it is," I said as I walked into the kitchen and kissed my mom on the cheek.

"Why do you say that, sweetie?" Mom asked, and I really wished she'd stop calling me sweetie, already. I wasn't five anymore.

"I'm dreaming about monsters," I said as I sat down to my stack of freakishly blue pancakes. They were delicious, but they were…blue. "I've been dreaming of a girl about my age, probably fourteen or fifteen. She's being attacked by a big dragon-snake thing, and I think I'm supposed to stop it from happening."

"Do you recognize the girl?" Dad asked.

"Never seen her before," I sputtered almost incoherently as I devoured my pancakes.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Mom ordered, and Dad chuckled as I finished chewing my food.

"Sorry, Mom," I apologized. "Anyway, I don't think she's a demigod like you two. I think she's a mortal, a clear-sighted mortal."

"Like you," Mom said.

I may be the son of two demigods, but that doesn't make me a demigod. And just because my parents are two of the legendary heroes of Olympus, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, doesn't mean I inherited any kind of godly powers from them, because I most certainly didn't. I'm a mortal: no powers, no ADHD, no dyslexia, none of that demigod stuff, except for the ability to see through the Mist, and as far as I know, all descendents of demigods have clear sight. I wasn't a troubled teen, either, although, I did get into my fair share of it. Having clear sight created some awkward situations at times, usually making me out to be a trouble-maker or just a complete fool.

"Do you want to go to camp, son?" Dad asked me.

What I wanted to say was _no, not really_. I'd wanted to try out for summer baseball. I played second base for my school's junior varsity team, and I loved baseball. Being summer break, baseball season at school was over, but I'd hoped to get picked up to play on a summer team. I guess that wasn't going to happen now.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

My parents never lied to me about who they are and who my godly grandparents are. I knew all about the demigod life and Camp Half-Blood. I'd actually visited camp on a few occasions when I was younger. My parents would tell me of their adventures and quests as bedtime stories. They warned me over and over that this day might come, that I might one day be a camper like they were, and when the dreams began, I knew that day was finally here, I knew my life was about to change forever.

My mom had a concerned look upon her face; what mother wouldn't, "Well, I guess you should start packing. We'll take you to camp tomorrow."

I almost choked on my pancakes. Tomorrow was...soon, too soon.

After I finished my breakfast, I went up to my bedroom to pack my duffle bag. _Tomorrow._ I'd only been on summer break for a week. I didn't get to hang out with any of my friends or do any of the stuff I had planned to do this summer. As I packed my bag, I got the feeling it was time to stop making plans.

I finished packing my bag, then showered and put on jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers. There was something I had to do before I left for camp, someone I had to say goodbye to. I grabbed my cell phone (being mortal, cell phone usage wasn't risky for me) and sent Nic a text: _Meet me at the park in 20_.

I walked back into the kitchen where Mom was cleaning up the mess Dad had made; he wasn't a neat-freak by any stretch of the imagination. "Mom, I'm going to the park for a little while," I told her.

"Okay, be careful."

"Always," I waved to her then put my cap on and walked out the front door.

I walked the few blocks to the park and sat on a bench to wait for Nic. Only a few minutes had passed when I saw the blue-eyed girl walking up the path toward me. Nicole Taylor, one of my best friends and my best girlfriend- wait, friend that's a girl, not _girlfriend_...at least, not yet. Nic and I had become friends right after she started at my school two years ago. She was my age, fourteen and was athletic like me. She played volleyball and was a cheerleader, though she said the only reason she was a cheerleader was because she got the best seat at the games, the sideline. And even though she didn't cheer at my baseball games, she never missed one.

"Hey, Chase," she smiled as she tucked a stray piece of her long, blond hair behind her ear. "What's up?"

She sat down on the bench beside me, and I said, "Well, I've kinda had a change of plans for the summer."

"Oh, yeah? What's changed?" she asked.

"Mom and Dad got me into this summer camp, and I leave tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow, "Camp?"

"I know, it sounds lame," I said, and it does sound lame.

"What kind of camp?" she asked.

"It's a baseball camp," I lied.

Nic was a normal mortal; she couldn't see through the Mist. She knew nothing about the gods, demigods, or monsters, and I intended to keep it that way.

"Well, that's great, Chase," she grinned widely. "I know how badly you want to play ball this summer."

Gods, I hated lying to her, "Um…yeah."

"So, is this camp here in the city?"

"No, it's in Long Island," I told her.

"Oh," disappointment was noticeable in her voice. "How long will you be gone?"

"All summer." I hoped it would only be for the summer. I probably should've been hoping I'd survive the summer. "I'm sorry, Nic," I sighed. "I know we had a lot of stuff planned."

"It's okay, Chase," she put her hand on mine. "I know how much baseball means to you."

"Right," I muttered. Did I mention I really,_ really _hate lying to her?

"Come on," she said, pulling me up off the park bench. "Let's go get milkshakes." She knew me too well. A chocolate milkshake was my ultimate weakness.

We left the park and went to the ice cream shop we always go to. I got a chocolate shake, as always, and she got a pineapple shake. She got a different flavor every time. We spent the rest of the afternoon just walking through the city and talking. I was dreading tomorrow, and she kept my mind off the impending doom that was about to become my life.

When I made it back home around five o'clock that evening, I sat on the front steps of our home for a while. I wasn't ready to go inside and hear the speech about camp that I knew my parents were going to give. I'd been sitting there for about half an hour, just watching people walk by and thinking about what camp would be like, when Dad walked out the door. He sat down next to me and swiftly reached up to knock my cap off my head. I knew it was coming, and I blocked his attempt.

"Nice reflexes," he grinned.

"Foresight," I laughed and shook my head. "You always try that."

"Anticipation and response," he nodded. "Quality hero skills."

"You really think I'll be a great hero, like you?"

"I know you will."

"I wish I was that confident," I sighed.

I didn't have any godly powers like him or Mom. I was really unsure why I was even having dreams about a monster; I was nothing special, really. The only fighting skills I had were what Mom and Dad had taught me over the years.

"When I first went to camp, it took awhile for my confidence to build," Dad admitted. "I was totally clueless that first summer. It was pretty humiliating. At least you know all about camp life already."

"That's about the only thing I have going for me."

"Chase, I'd really hoped this day would never come. I prayed to the gods that you wouldn't have to live the kind of life your mother and I did, but you have to play the cards the Fates deal you, and I think they have big plans for you, son."

Big plans, for me? Well, that was cryptic. I got the feeling Dad knew something I didn't, that he was holding something back.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Oh, I just…" he paused. "I just think you'll do great. Like father, like son, huh?"

When he backpedaled just then, I knew he wasn't telling me everything, but I knew better than to push him, because he wouldn't tell me. He'd make me figure it out on my own, like he always did.

"I'll try to make you proud, Dad."

"I'm already proud," Dad smiled and nudged my shoulder with his own.

Mom stuck her head out the front door, "Are you boys hungry? Supper's almost ready."

Dad and I stood up off the steps and walked into the house for the last supper we'd share together as a family for a while.


	2. Chapter 2

2. My Long Lost Friend

Sunday morning, Dad pulled Mom's silver Volvo sedan around and parked it at the curb in front of the house. Mom and I walked out the front door of our Brownstone and down the steps toward the car where Dad was waiting. No one said a word as we climbed into the car and pulled away. I sat in the backseat and stared out the window as my house faded from view.

I had mixed feelings about going to camp, obviously. A part of me was excited. Last night, before I finally fell asleep, I kept thinking about all of the stories my parents had told me about their experiences at camp. It always sounded so cool when I was little. Back then, I'd imagine myself being a great hero slaying the Minotaur or sailing the Sea of Monsters. I was going to be a rock star at camp. Now that I was older, though, I wasn't so sure. I'd begun to wonder if I'd ever actually be a hero. Fourteen was a little old for a new camper, but I guess the Fates felt I wasn't ready until now. The truth was I didn't know if I was ready. I was nervous, so nervous, in fact, that I hardy slept a wink last night, and when I did sleep, I had that same nightmare, again.

I couldn't get the image of the girl out of my head. She was pretty. She had curly, brown hair, freckles, and sharp features that look almost elfish. Her green eyes were intense and surprisingly fearless as she stared down the giant reptile-monster that was about to attack her. Her tiny body stood firm in the face of certain death, and that was impressive. She wasn't a demigod. Don't ask me how I knew that, because I haven't the slightest myself; I just knew. Maybe she was a legacy, like me. I couldn't be certain, but I think she was. I guess I'd find out soon enough.

Mom turned and looked at me, "Are you hungry? We can stop and get breakfast."

"I'm fine, Mom," I told her. My stomach was already in knots. If I tried to eat, I'd probably vomit. Normally, she'd argue with me and tell me I needed to eat something, but not today. I'm sure she could tell I didn't have an appetite, and I knew she didn't want me puking in her car.

The rest of the drive was quiet. The only sound was music from the radio. And the trip was entirely too quick. Before I knew it, Dad had pulled down the old farm road that leads to the base of Half-Blood Hill. Dad stopped the car at the end of the road, just down the hill from a towering pine tree where the dragon, Peleus, guarded the Golden Fleece. Mom and Dad were staring out the window at Half-Blood Hill, nostalgia oozing from their faces. It actually made me feel a lot better about being here when I saw their expressions. They'd been through some rough times here, but they'd also had the time of their lives here. This was where they'd met each other and fell in love. If it weren't for this place, I wouldn't exist, and somehow, knowing that, made camp a lot less frightening.

Mom and Dad walked me to that huge pine tree where the copper-colored dragon sniffed me. He already knew me. Apparently, we'd met when I was just a baby, but I hadn't been to camp since I was nine, so he had to get reacquainted. Mom and Dad both scratched his chin, and Peleus seemed almost excited to see them.

I turned to my parents, "Well, I guess this is it."

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you in?" Mom asked. How embarrassing would that've been to have my parents walking me into camp? I knew they were legends here, but they were still my parents, and I would've been so embarrassed.

"He'll be fine on his own," Dad rescued me, and I gave him a quick thank you-smile.

"Oh, alright," Mom grinned. "So, you have everything you need, right?"

"I think so," I told her.

"If you ever need anything, we're just an Iris message away," Dad reassured me, and I hoped I'd never have to call them for anything.

"I'll miss you, sweetie," Mom was trying not to cry. "Don't forget to brush your teeth."

"Mom."

"And always keep an extra drachma in case you need to IM us, and make sure you get enough to eat…" she rattled on.

"Mom, I'll be fine," I assured her.

"I know. I just worry."

I felt bad for her, "I know you do."

"I love you," she said as she pulled me into an unnecessarily tight hug.

"I love you, too, Mom," I said as I struggled to breathe from her grip. She finally released me and began to pat down my unruly hair. I indulged her for a second before turning to Dad. "Any words of wisdom, Dad?"

Dad smiled and put his hand on my shoulder, "Have fun, kid." That was the best advice I'd gotten yet, and I hugged him for it. "We'll miss you," he said.

"I'll miss you, too."

"Okay," Dad said. "Enough with the goodbyes. Grover knows you're coming. He'll be waiting for you at the Big House." Grover, man, I hadn't seen him in forever.

"And be sure to tell him and Chiron we said hi," Mom added.

"Okay, Mom."

"Well," Dad began. "Go on. Get in there. We'll see you in a few months."

I laughed, "I'm going. I'm going."

I walked to the crest of the hill, turned and waved to my parents, then headed down the path toward the Big House. Summer had just started, but camp was already bustling with activity. Lava bubbled down the rock wall, a black Pegasus was flying overhead, and I could even hear the clanging of swords from the arena. Voices of kids echoed throughout the valley, and it made a smile creep across my lips. As I walked toward the blue, two-story farmhouse, memories of the last time I visited camp came flooding back. I was nine, and I walked with my parents down this same path. I spent a week here that summer while Mom and Dad volunteered their time to train the campers. I had a blast. I got to ride Dad's pegasus, canoe in the lake, and even have mock swordfights in the arena. I almost felt like a real camper. I didn't want to leave. Dad laughed at me and said I'd be back someday. Turns out, he was right.

I was almost to the Big House porch when I heard someone yell my name, "Chase!"

I saw Grover burst through the open door of the house. He ran toward me as fast as his goat legs could carry him. I barely had time to drop my duffel before the satyr tackled me with a hug. "Hey, Grover."

He was grinning ear to ear when he took a step back and looked me over, "Look at you. Seems like just yesterday you were a little kid, now you're a full-blown teenager."

I shrugged my shoulders, "It happens."

He squinted his eyes and tilted his head as he examined me, "Dude, you look just like your dad, except for the eyes, of course."

It was true. I'd seen pictures of my dad at my age, and if it weren't for the eyes, we'd look almost identical. "Speaking of dad," I said. "He and Mom wanted me to tell you hi for them."

"Wait a second, they're not here?" Grover was disappointed.

"No," I shook my head and almost felt bad about them not coming into camp…almost. "They just dropped me off up on the hill."

"Yeah, that would have been kinda embarrassing if your parents walked you into camp."

He agreed. That was a relief. "I know, right?"

"Well," he patted me on the shoulder. "It's good to finally have you here at camp."

"It's good to be here," I said, and surprisingly, I actually meant it.

I heard someone on the porch clear their throat and looked over to see Chiron and Mr. D playing pinochle. Grover and I walked over to the table where they were playing, and Chiron looked up at me. "Chase Jackson," he smiled and offered me his hand.

I shook his hand, "Chiron, it's been a long time."

"Too long," he nodded. "How are your parents?"

"They're good, and they say hello, by the way."

"I sure miss those two, but now that you're here, I'm sure things are about to get very interesting."

I had no idea what he meant, and I didn't get a chance to ask him before Mr. D cut in, "New camper?"

"A legacy," Chiron told him.

Mr. D looked up from his cards and stared me down, "Peter Johnson and Annabelle Cross' brat, right?"

Umm…"Who?"

He waved away my question and continued, "Grover, put Chris here in cabin eleven with the other strays."

"It's Chase, sir, and I've already been given permission to stay in the Poseidon cabin or the Athena cabin."

"And just who gave you permission?" he grumbled rather loudly.

"Um, Poseidon and Athena."

Apparently, that didn't sit well with him. He slammed his cards down on the table, "I'm the director of this camp, and you'll stay where I put you!"

I took a step back. The fat, cherub-looking god was kinda scary when he was pissed. His Diet Coke began to dance across the pinochle table, and I could feel the earth tremor. I guess me staying in cabin eleven didn't sit well with my grandfather.

Dionysus shook his fist in the air, "Fine, he can stay where ever he wants, but he better not cause any trouble."

When the earth stopped shaking, Chiron was trying not to laugh, "Grover, get Chase settled in and introduce him to the campers."

"Sure thing," Grover nodded.

We walked down the porch steps and Grover asked, "So, which cabin?"

"Which is the least crowded?" I didn't want to be stuffed into an already overcrowded cabin.

"Cabin three. There's only one child of Poseidon here at the moment, and that's Jade."

"Cabin three it is, then."

We had just started to walk toward the cabins when I heard a voice calling out behind me, "CJ? Oh, my gods, CJ is that you?"

I knew that voice. It was a voice I hadn't heard in a long time, and it had changed a little, but there was still no mistaking it. I turned around, and there she was, "Alexandria Grace."

She put her hands on her hips and gave me an annoyed look. She hated being called by her given name, and I didn't blame her; Alexandria was a mouthful. And my gods had she grown up. I remembered her as a cute little brunette with baby blue eyes and pigtails. Back then, she was just knees and elbows, but now…my long lost friend was _hot._

She smiled with that blinding bright smile of hers, "Gods, how long has it been?"

I had to think about it for a second, "Oh, about six years."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me, "It's so good to see you."

My head was reeling over the fact that she was here. I don't know why I was so surprised. I should've known she'd be here, but honestly, I hadn't really thought much about her in years. The necklace around her neck had three beads on it, so she'd been coming to camp since she was eleven.

I was also surprised at how much she'd changed. Her shoulder-length, brown hair was accented with blond highlights now, and her eye color had deepened into a blazing blue. She looked kinda like her mom, actually, but that smile, she definitely got that from a god.

When she let me go, I bet my face was as red as a chili pepper, "It's good to see you, too, Lexie."

Grover gave me an odd look, "CJ?"

"Or does everyone just call you Chase now?" Lexie asked.

"No, CJ's fine. My mom still calls me CJ." It'd been years since anyone other than my mom had called me CJ.

Grover still had that frazzled look on his face, "I take it you two know each other?"

"Of course, we do," Lexie told him. "We were best friends when we were eight."

"Lexie and I lived in the same apartment building for a while. She used to come over everyday," I explained to Grover, then I turned to Lexie, "Remember, you used to wear out my karaoke machine?"

"I remember," she smiled.

I nudged Grover with my elbow, "She thought she was Apollo's gift."

"Hey," she playfully swatted my arm. "I am Apollo's gift."

"Ahem..." I heard someone trying to get our attention. This was the first time I even noticed the guy standing beside Lexie. He was tall with dark skin, eyes, and hair, and jeez, how did I miss him? The guy was huge.

"Oh, sorry," Lexie apologized. "This is Russ, son of Ares...my boyfriend."

Boyfriend? Did I hear her right? Denzel here was her boyfriend?

I shook the guy's hand and introduced myself, "Chase Jackson."

"You're mortal," he said like it was some kind of disease.

"That's right," I nodded.

"Then why are you here?" he asked, and what was with the scrutiny?

Grover put his hand on my shoulder, "He's a little different than a regular mortal. Chase is a legacy, second generation."

Russ shrugged his broad shoulders, "So, he can see through the Mist, big deal."

"And he has a gift," Lexie added.

I rolled my eyes at her, "You mean a curse." Yeah, I might've forgotten to mention that I have a curse.

Russ was intrigued by me now, "What's this about a curse?"

"I inherited a curse from my father," I said. "The curse of Achilles."


	3. Chapter 3

3. I Get In On The Action

When Dad was a camper not much older than me, he let Uncle Nico talk him into taking a swim in the River Styx to obtain the curse of Achilles. I'm sure, at the time, it was a good idea, but curses have consequences, often unknown and unwanted consequences. Dad thought he'd lost the curse of Achilles a long time ago, but as it turns out, you don't just lose a curse. One of two things happen: you pass the curse on to a descendant, or, if you have no descendant, it dies with you. This is why curses are most often family curses. They get passed down from generation to generation. A curse is like a virus; it can go dormant, believe it or not. The curse of Achilles had just gone dormant for Dad. It was just chillin' out, waiting for a new host, waiting to be passed on, passed on to me.

I'm invulnerable. I've never had a broken bone, never scraped my knee, never even been sick. Someone could stab me with a sword, and unless they hit my Achilles spot, the sword would just bounce off my skin, and I'd be fine. Now, my Achilles spot, that's not something I like to talk about for a couple of reasons. For one, if everyone knew where it was, it'd put me at risk. Very few people knew where it is. Of course, my parents knew, Chiron knew, and through an unfortunate incident during a game of tag when we were eight, Lexie knew. Only people I trusted and my parents trusted knew. The other reason I don't like to talk about it is because of the location itself. It's embarrassing, and definitely not the spot I would've picked. Mom was the one who figured it out. She put two and two together. The curse was passed to me when I was conceived. At that point, my mother was my lifeline. The umbilical cord that connected us was what anchored me to the mortal world. Consequently, my bellybutton is my Achilles spot. Talk about undignified.

When I was old enough to understand, Dad sat me down and told me all about the curse. He told me about the warning Achilles himself had given him, and how he had no choice but to take on the strength and the weakness of the curse. He told me that it could make me incredibly powerful, but if I didn't keep my arrogance of that power in check, that it would destroy me. That scared me. It was still scary, even more so now that I was at camp.

"Here we are," Grover said as we walked up to cabin three.

I stared at the gray stone cabin and took in a deep breath that smelled of sea spray. I'd heard smell was the strongest sense tied to memory, and I believed it. As I stood there in front of the cabin, I remembered Mom rocking me to sleep on the porch swing, I remembered playing king of the mountain on the bunks with Dad, and I remembered getting piggy-back rides from my uncle Tyson.

"It hasn't changed a bit," I smiled.

"Um," Grover mumbled. "You haven't walked inside, yet."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You'll see."

When I opened the cabin door, I saw what Grover meant. The place was trashed. Clothes, weapons, armor, and all kinds of junk were scattered throughout the cabin. My gods, being a total slob must be a Poseidon trait. I was so glad I didn't inherit that. I placed my bag on the bunk that was clean. It had only sheets and one item of clothing on it, a pink lace bra of all things. I picked the garment up off the bunk, and when I did, I heard someone that wasn't Grover clear their throat. I turned to see a tall red-head standing in the cabin's doorway. She had a hand on her curvy hip and a smirk on her face. Her sea-green eyes were staring at me.

"Can I help you boys?" she asked.

"Oh, Jade," Grover said to her. "You have a new roommate."

"Really?" she said, still staring at me. Her eyes looked so much like Dad's, it was kinda scary.

"This is Chase Jackson," Grover introduced me.

The pale-skinned daughter of Poseidon walked over to me and took her bra out of my hand. "Pink's not really your color, nephew."

"Sorry," I blushed. It was weird to think of this chick as my aunt. She couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than me.

She smiled a playful smile, "I'm Jade."

I held out my hand, "Call me CJ." I didn't normally go by CJ, but here…it fit.

She shook my hand, "Nice to meet you, CJ. We don't get many legacies around here. Your parents are legends in this place." She pointed toward a framed photo hanging on the wall. It was a picture of my mom and dad sitting on the porch swing when they were kids. "You look a lot like your dad."

"Yeah, I guess I do."

She picked a sword up off one of the bunks, "I've got to get to the arena, but I'll see you around, CJ. Oh, and don't worry about this mess, I'll get it cleaned up."

When she walked out of the cabin, I turned to Grover, "She seems…nice."

Grover smiled, "Jade's great; she's so goofy. You'll love her."

"How tall is she?" I asked. She towered over me when she was standing next to me.

"Just over six-feet and she's a heck of a basketball player. She's only sixteen, and she already has college scouts looking at her."

I looked around the messy cabin. I couldn't really get settled in until this place was cleaned up. "Well, what now?" I asked Grover.

"Let's go introduce you to some of the other campers."

We walked through the courtyard, and I met Trip Cooper, a son of Hecate, Jordan Smith, a daughter of Hephaestus, and Ajax McClure (or Jax as he liked to be called because it was just _so cool_), a son of Aphrodite.

Grover and I were walking toward the canoe lake when I saw a camper running up the path toward us. He was muscular and tall, but not as tall as Jade, and had short, light brown hair. "Grover!" the kid yelled. "Grover!"

"What is it, Noah?" Grover asked when the guy reached us.

"The nymphs, they're threatening to strike again. You have to negotiate a reprieve, dude. I can't miss another meal."

"Is my ex-wife involved?" Grover asked. I'd forgotten he and Juniper were divorced.

"Um…"

"Blaa-ha-ha! You tell that-" Grover paused to calm himself. "Never mind, I'll take care of it myself. Noah, show Chase around camp."

Grover stormed off toward the forest, and I turned to my new tour guide, "I'm CJ."

The guy asked, "Is that short for something?"

"Chase Jackson," I told him.

"Oh, I've heard about you…the prodigal son, cursed grandson of Poseidon and Athena, son of a couple of demigod legends."

The prodigal son? They really called me that? Someone was _seriously_ misinformed.

He held out his hand, "Noah Hawkins, son of Prometheus."

I shook his hand, "You're a demititan."

"Yeah," he sighed. His light brown eyes looked saddened, like he didn't want to talk about his parentage, so I didn't say another word about it. We stood in awkward silence for a moment before he said, "Hey, do you want to go to the arena? There's a big sword fighting tournament going on right now."

Sword fighting, now that was my element. Dad had been training me techniques for years, since I was big enough to hold a sword. "That sounds awesome."

As we made our way to the arena, Noah loosened up and told me a little bit about himself. He was thirteen and had been a year-rounder here at camp since he was nine. Noah and his mother had been on the run since he was a toddler. Prometheus had been after them once he learned of Noah's existence. Noah's mom finally brought him here to Camp Half-Blood to hide him from his father. He hadn't seen his mother since and had no idea where she was or what might've happened to her. I felt sorry for the guy. I couldn't imagine never seeing my mom again.

I could tell the guy was the curious type and was very intelligent by the way he spoke. He had a slightly dry, sarcastic tone, but he was also surprisingly witty and funny. He told me he was a bit of an outsider here because of his parentage…the whole Titan War and everything. He was unlike most demigods in that he didn't have dyslexia, but he did have ADHD. I could also tell he was an unconventional camper by his weapon and armor. He carried a katana, a Japanese samurai sword, not a Greek xiphos. The sword was sheathed, but I could tell that the blade was about two and a half feet long, and the leather-wrapped grip was a full foot long with a square guard. His armor, well it wasn't much. He wore a thin short-sleeved chain mail shirt over his orange Camp Half-Blood tee, and that was it.

"Are you a swordsman, CJ?" he asked me.

I shrugged, "Eh, I guess you could say that."

He smiled, "Maybe you'll get in on the action at the tournament?"

"We'll see."

I could hear the roar of the crowd before we even reached the arena. When we walked in, I was utterly amazed. There were about a hundred campers in the arena cheering on the matches. Some of the campers were preparing for a match, others were just there for the show. In the center of the arena were two campers wearing bronze armor and wielding bronze swords engaged in a heated duel. Their blades slammed into one another, and the sound echoed throughout the arena. In one corner of the arena, near a pile of swords and armor, a man stood with his arms crossed and his back leaned against the arena wall. He wasn't a camper; he was too old. He was a buff guy with blond hair that was beginning to gray. I'd say he was middle aged, probably forty, and as intently as he was watching the fighters, it'd be safe to assume he was the trainer.

Noah and I found a seat a couple rows up, and we watched several matches. Noah told me who the fighters were and who their godly parents were. It was a random assortment of children of several gods. The children of Ares and Hermes seemed to be the best swordsmen followed closely by the children of Hephaestus. When it came time for Jade to fight her duel, I definitely cheered for her. She was facing a son of Demeter, and she made quick work of him. Three parries, two quick jabs, and boom, the guy was down.

Noah nudged me with his elbow. "Go suit up. Let's see what you got."

My heart pounded, "Really?"

"Yeah, grab what you need from the arms pile and just wait for your turn."

Butterflies. Oh, my gods, the butterflies in my stomach were making me nauseous as I walked toward the pile of practice swords. Most of the swords were celestial bronze, but some were imperial gold or regular steel. Celestial bronze and imperial gold are precious and mystical metals that are perfect for killing monsters and are equally lethal to demigods and legacies, even legacies who consider themselves mortal, because however meager it may be, godly blood does flow through our veins. I'd be vulnerable to the metals if it weren't for the curse. I nervously dug through the pile until I finally found a sword with suitable weight and balance. I noticed the trainer was watching me out of the corner of his eye, but he never said a word to me. I looked at the pile of armor and grabbed a bronze breast and back plate and strapped it on. It covered my Achilles spot perfectly.

"You're new," the trainer finally said after I'd secured my armor.

"Yes, sir," I nodded to him. "Chase Jackson."

"I know who you are," he said. "The question is: are you ready to fight?"

I didn't know the answer, so I didn't say anything.

The trainer grinned, "Well, I guess we'll find out. It's your turn." He pointed into the ring where a camper was waiting for an opponent.

I walked up to my opponent. He was my size, maybe a little shorter. He had blond hair and those same gray eyes I have. This kid was a son of Athena. I hoped the tactics and strategies my mom had taught me over the years would help me in this duel. Athena kids were thinkers and tough opponents, but maybe I could outsmart this guy.

The air horn sounded and our match began. I was a little rusty and got off to a rough start. I mean, I hadn't picked up a sword in about four months. I'd been too busy with baseball to practice sword fighting, but once I finally got settled into a rhythm, the real duel began. He jabbed, and I spun away, coming around behind him. I elbowed him in the back, and he stumbled forward. He quickly got his feet planted and was able to parry my slice. He faked left, but I anticipated the move and was able to block his strike to the right. The guy was quick, and I'd already broken out into a sweat. He got a few hits in on me, and I was able to do the same to him. I watched his fighting style closely as we sparred, and I finally found his weakness. When he jabs left, he leaves his right side wide open. The next time he jabbed left, my blade made contact with his. I stepped forward and twirled my sword upward, sending the son of Athena's blade flying out of his hand. His right side was still wide open, and I slammed the hilt of my sword into it. The kid fell to the ground. That's right, I beat him.

The arena was filled with cheers and chatter. I'm sure everyone was wondering who I was. I heard someone clapping as they approached me. It was that big African American guy, Lexie's boyfriend. What was his name? …Russ.

"Not bad, Jackson," he said to me. "But let's see how well you do against a real swordsman."

When Russ drew his sword, I was on the edge of a heart attack. I knew children of Ares were the most skilled and toughest fighters. And they were big…all of them, and Russ here was no exception. The guy was built like a football player. He was six feet and two hundred pounds of lean muscle. He took his stance and raised his sword. I planted my feet, gripped my sword tightly, and prepared myself for an ass-kicking.


	4. Chapter 4

4. Fail

The air horn sounded, and Russ immediately came at me. I ducked his slice and ran past him. He turned quickly and easily blocked my swing at him. The force of his blade against mine rattled my hand, and I nearly dropped my sword. This guy was even stronger than I thought. Russ stepped forward and swung his sword at me. I blocked the strike with my blade and pushed him back away from me. Russ had a smirk on his face the whole time, and I knew he was taking it easy on me. He slashed again, but I dodged the attack. I moved forward and counterattacked. Russ slammed his blade into mine so hard that I stumbled. He quickly swiped at my head, and I ducked and rolled coming up behind him. I took advantage of his slow turn and kicked him in the back. He stumbled, and I heard the arena come alive with cheers. It was a confidence booster, for sure.

Russ regained his balance and smiled, "Nice move."

"Um, thanks," I panted. I didn't know what else to say.

Russ thrust his sword at me. I parried, and returned with a jab that he swiftly sidestepped. I could tell he was getting bored. I wasn't a challenge for him. Every move I made at him, he easily avoided. Well, I guess it was time I turned up the intensity. I went at Russ with everything I had. I thrust, sliced, and jabbed, which he parried then came back at me with the same maneuvers. I tried to block his strikes, but he was just too fast. One swing caught me in my armor near my ribcage and sent me crashing to the arena floor. I quickly got to my feet and went right back at him. He spun away from my jab and brought the hilt of his sword down on the back of my neck…hard. If it weren't for my invulnerability, he could've easily broken my neck, and he knew it; that's why he did it. I stumbled, but quickly turned back to him so he couldn't get a free hit in on me. I thrust, he blocked. I jabbed, he blocked. He swung, I ducked. He sliced, and I took a hit to my left bicep that should've ripped me wide open, but his blade just cut my shirtsleeve and harmlessly bounced off my skin. He was testing me. He was trying to find my weakness. He wanted me to slip up and give him an indication as to where my Achilles spot was. I wasn't going to let that happen. I continued to attack Russ, and he continued to outmaneuver me.

"Come on, Jackson, get the lead out," Russ complained. "You're moving like molasses."

I was exhausted and could barely catch my breath, "This is as fast as I go."

I knew this guy was about to take me down, so I came at him with one more good thrust. He did nothing more than turn his body a few degrees, just enough that my blade barely grazed past his armor, and right then, I knew it was over. My momentum brought me right up to him, and it was like slow motion when his enormous elbow was coming at the left side of my face. There was nothing I could do. His elbow hit my face with so much force that it sent me flying twenty feet across the arena. I landed hard on my back, and my sword went flying out of my hand. I heard the crowd gasp. I'm sure they thought the son of Ares had just killed me. I laid there for a second trying to catch my breath, then I saw a hand offering to help me up. It was the trainer. I took his hand and got to my feet while Russ had his arms held high in triumph with the crowd cheering him on.

"You alright, son?" the trainer asked with an amused grin on his face.

I dusted myself off, "Well, that was nothing if not humiliating."

"If it makes you feel any better, Russ is the best swordsman at camp. No one has ever beaten him, though, I think he might've been taking it easy on you."

I shook my head, "No, that doesn't make me feel better."

He laughed at me. Who _was_ this old man, and what the _hell_ was so funny? "So, you're the trainer, I take it?" I asked.

"That's right," he nodded. "Sword, javelin, and shield tactics trainer." He held out his hand, "Jason Grace."

Oh, that's just_ perfect_. Could I really be that unlucky? Not only did I get a beat-down, but I got it in front of _Jason Grace_. The guy was a legend, and all I could think about was how much I hoped he wouldn't tell my parents about this.

I shook his hand and said the only thing I could think of, "You're Lexie's uncle."

He nodded, "And you're Percy and Annabeth's son."

Before I could say anything else, I heard Lexie's voice calling out to me, "CJ!"

She and Noah were jogging across the arena toward me and Jason. When they reached us, I could tell Lexie was about to burst out laughing, "Are you okay?"

"He's fine," Jason smiled and put his hand on my shoulder. The way he said it, I almost got the feeling the guy was proud of me. Why he'd be proud, I don't know.

Lexie grabbed my chin and turned my head so she could get a good look at where Russ hit me. She shook her head, "No mark at all."

"Does that surprise you?" I asked.

"No, but that doesn't make it any less cool."

"It's very cool," Noah agreed.

"Well, I don't feel very cool right now."

"You tried, kid," Jason said. "And you tried on your first day. That's more than I can say about most campers. It took courage to do what you just did."

Courage? I don't think it was courage, more like ignorance. I didn't know Russ was the best swordsman and that everyone was scared to fight him.

"You're so brave, CJ," Lexie teased. Well, there's something about her that hadn't changed; she was always teasing me about something when we were little kids.

"Oh, shut-up."

She laughed and grabbed my arm, "Come on, we're going to be late for lunch."

Lexie, Noah, and I walked to the dining pavilion where there was a line of campers waiting to take their seats at their tables. There were a lot of tables, nearly twenty, and there were a lot of campers, probably close to a hundred and fifty. As I waited in line, I noticed the campers were staring at me and whispering to each other. They acted like they'd never seen a new camper before. Maybe it was because I was a legacy. Jade did say they don't get many legacies here. Or maybe it was because of the curse, but it was most likely because of the thorough beating I'd just received. Whatever it was, I was the talk of camp.

When I finally got through the line, I took a seat at the Poseidon table with Jade. She looked at me wide-eyed, "I figured you'd be in the infirmary. You took a pretty hard hit…to your face." She looked at my face closely, "How do you not even have a bruise?"

"I um, I have the curse of Achilles." I was surprised she didn't already know that.

She shook her head, "Say what, now?"

"I'm invulnerable."

She mumbled something under her breath that sounded like _the cursed one with pure birthright. _I had no idea what she was talking about.

"What?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing," she brushed off my question. "So, invulnerability, that's a nice quirk to have."

"Yeah, it comes in real handy when I get elbowed in the face." I was still kind of upset that I'd gotten beat so badly.

"Eh," she shrugged her shoulders. "I can't beat him, either. Don't worry about it."

Jade and I got our food, sandwiches and mixed fruit, and we scraped a portion off our plates into the brazier fire as an offering to the gods. I looked around the pavilion as I ate my ham and Swiss sandwich and sipped my Dr. Pepper. The sandwich was good, but whatever was in my glass did not taste like Dr. Pepper. As I looked around, I realized I couldn't remember which tables were which. I saw Lexie sitting at a table with about a dozen other campers; that was the Apollo table. The Ares table was unmistakable. Russ sat at the head of the table with the rest of the football team, about twenty in all. I found the Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Hecate tables via the campers I'd met earlier, and I recognized the kid that I'd dueled in my first sword fight sitting at a table with about fifteen other blond-haired and gray-eyed kids. I would've looked really out of place at the Athena table. I looked for Noah's table. I was expecting him to be sitting alone, but he was sitting at a fairly crowded table. Most of the campers were elfish-looking kids, but a handful looked nothing like them. That must've been cabin eleven's table, the Hermes table. Dad told me that when he first came to camp, he stayed in cabin eleven until Grandpa claimed him. He said that Hermes was the protector of travelers, and that anyone who didn't have a cabin, was always welcome in cabin eleven.

After lunch, Noah resumed showing me around camp. I pretty much knew where everything was, not much had changed in the five years since I'd been here, but the refresher was nice, and it gave me a chance to get to know Noah a little better and to meet some of the other campers.

Turns out, there were two other legacies here at camp: Andy, a grandson of Hermes and Chloe, a granddaughter of Iris. And I guess Lexie's a legacy, too…kinda. She's a demigod, being a daughter of Apollo, but her mother, Thalia, is also a demigod, so I'm not exactly sure what that made her…other than ornery. Noah told me that some legacies have powers and some don't, which I already knew, and I was one of those who didn't (something about a clash of godly powers, I wasn't really sure). Noah also told me those who don't have powers typically live normal lives and never have any reason to come to camp. That made sense. Those who did have powers, which were apparently few and far between, only came to camp if their scent was strong enough to attract monsters. Chloe had powers; that's why she was here, but Andy didn't have any powers. His mother was a single mother, and when she was killed by a monster a few years ago, he had nowhere to go. Hermes sent a couple of his demigod children on a quest to retrieve his grandson and bring him here to camp. The more I learned about Hermes, the more I liked him.

As far as the Big Three went, there were three children, and two grandchildren of the Big Three here. Lexie and I were the grandchildren, and there were the eleven year old twins of Zeus, Milo and Molly, and of course, Jade, the daughter of Poseidon.

"So," Noah began as we walked past the Pegasus stables. "You're here because of your curse?"

"I guess so," I said. "That and the dreams."

"Dreams?"

"More like nightmares, actually."

He was curious, "Care to divulge the details?"

I told him about my recurring nightmare, and he thought carefully for a moment.

"Well, CJ," he said. "It sounds like you need a quest. Too bad we don't have an Oracle."

Was he joking? "There's no Oracle?"

"Not for three years, now. Every time the spirit tries to take a new host, something goes wrong. Chiron says the girls just weren't compatible with the spirit. The poor girls, I feel bad for them."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"Well, the last two that tried to host the spirit went crazy. The one before that, she was completely vaporized."

Vaporized? What kind of cracked-out spirit vaporizes an innocent girl?

Noah continued, "We've stopped searching for a host because of the risks."

I nodded, "Good decision."

As we continued walking, I could smell and hear the forges before I saw it. The smell of soot made my nose itch, and the sound of hammering rang across the valley.

"We're going to the forges?" I asked Noah.

"You want your own sword, don't you?"

The sword I used when I'd spar with Dad back home was a good sword, but I'd outgrown it. It was entirely too light for me now and that made the balance off, so I didn't even bring it with me.

I smiled, "I'd love my own sword, and shield, too, if that's possible?"

"Anything you want," he nodded. "We've got to get you ready for capture the flag tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5

5. I Look Stunning In My Armor

She was in a park. She wasn't alone; there were other kids around. It looked like she was at a gathering of some kind, a birthday party, maybe. She was sitting at a picnic table smiling and laughing with the other kids. Her eyes were greener than Ireland on St. Patrick's Day, and they had a strange glow about them, especially when they widened like they did when she spotted the monster. She shot up from her seat, and got some pretty strange looks from the other kids. I could empathize; been there, done that. She yelled at her friends, warning them to run, to take cover and hide. Again, they looked at her like she'd gone nuts. Who knows what they were seeing, but it sure as hell wasn't a fifty-foot long, two-ton, boa constrictor that was as big around as a car, because if it was, they'd be running. I won't lie; I'd probably be running, too. My mom has a problem with spiders, my dad has a problem with small spaces, and I have a problem with snakes. Nic laughs at me because I refuse to go to the snake exhibit when we go to the zoo or the aquarium.

The girl took off running toward the snake-monster. Her actions may have seemed irrational or maybe just plain crazy, but she knew the monster was there for her, and she wanted to put as much distance between the monster and the innocent mortals as she could. It was brave.

She was a little bitty thing, barely five-feet tall and probably didn't weigh eighty pounds soaking wet, but she stood firm and bowed up to the monster like she could've been a daughter of Ares, though, I knew she wasn't. She didn't have any powers; if she did, she would've used them. That pretty much confirmed my theory that she was a legacy, but if she doesn't have any powers, how was her scent strong enough for the monster to find her? The snake-monster stared her down with its beady eyes, then without warning, it lunged at her.

I sat straight up in bed. Well, that's seven nights in a row now that I've had that dream, and it was becoming clearer and more intense each time, which gave me a sense of urgency. I knew I was running out of time to save this girl, if that's even what I'm supposed to do.

I looked around cabin three, which was actually clean, now. The sun was barely peeking through the window, and Jade was still sound asleep. I quietly got out of my bunk and slipped on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and my sneakers, then eased out the door. A few campers were already awake and out and about, but the majority were still in bed. As I walked through the courtyard, I noticed all of the Apollo kids were up, including Lexie. She was standing just outside her cabin door talking to Noah, and I wondered what they were talking about. She noticed me and waved just before she walked back into her cabin.

Noah came running up to me, "You're up early."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well," I told him as we walked toward the dining pavilion. Gods, I hope they have coffee and not decaf.

"Did you have that dream again?" he asked, and I nodded.

"You should probably talk to Chiron about it."

"I'm going to." I needed to tell someone about it. "So," I started. "What were you and Lexie talking about?" I probably sounded nosy, but I was curious.

"Oh, we're just trying to organize an archery tournament," Noah said.

Archery tournament, huh? Well, that's not exactly what I wanted to hear. "Did she…did she say anything about me?"

"Lexie?" he asked. Who else would I be talking about?

"When you two were talking?" I continued.

Noah raised his eyebrows slightly, "Did she say anything about _you_?"

"It's just, we used to be best friends, and it's been so long since we've seen each other, and I haven't really gotten to talk to her much since I got here…"

Noah stared at me blankly. He was probably laughing inside. I could hardly believe she didn't even mention me to Noah. "She didn't say _anything _about me?"

"No, but I could pass her a note before lunch," Noah said in that dry, sarcastic tone of his.

I just rolled my eyes, "Smart ass."

Noah grinned and joined me as I continued on to the dining pavilion.

After a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, Noah and I made our way to the forges. The daughter of Hephaestus I'd met yesterday, Jordan, said she would design the perfect sword and shield for me. She'd also taken measurements of me so she could provide me with some custom-made armor. She was really nice and helpful. She could've told me to make it all myself, but she was more than happy to do it for me after I caught my jeans on fire twice during my first attempt to cast a blade. Needless to say, I have no experience whatsoever in arms fabrication. I think Jordan might've been sweet on me a little, too, and that's why she offered to help me out. She kept giving me this smile and was blushing. She was cute in a kind of modest and outdoorsy way, but I don't know, she's just not really my type. I suppose, though, I should get her a gift for her time and effort spent on my weapons and armor. Maybe I'll get her a pair of earrings or something. Girls like jewelry, right?

We walked into the forges and on a mannequin near the door was the most amazing set of armor I'd ever seen. It was a full set: breast and back plates, shin guards, arm guards, and the fiercest looking war helm ever. Every piece was made of a thin sheet of polished silver. Random designs were etched into the silver giving the armor texture and aesthetics. The helm had a round crown with a three-inch tall, solid silver mane running down the center like a mohawk, and it had cheek guards that looked like the fangs of a saber tooth tiger.

"Well, what do you think?" Jordan asked when she saw me looking at the armor.

"I think it's amazing," I said. "Is it mine?"

She smiled, "Sure is. Go ahead, try it on."

As I took the armor off the mannequin and began to strap it on, I noticed each piece had a layer of black fabric pop-riveted to the inside. The fabric was thick like denim and had the texture of canvas, but was too thin and rough to be padding.

"Added protection," Jordan said when she saw me examining the fabric. "It's a carbon-fiber and Kevlar blended material. The same stuff used to make the sails of the Argo II way back when."

"So, it's like a bulletproof vest?" I guessed.

She nodded, "If anything penetrates the metal shell of your armor, you can bet your ass it's not going to get through the fabric."

Noah helped me strap on my new armor. Every bit of it fit perfectly, and it was surprisingly light and comfortable. I didn't actually need all the armor, but to ask for a specific piece would only give away my weakness, and I certainly didn't want that. With a full set, I'd look like any other camper, and my weak spot wouldn't be obvious to everyone.

"It looks good on you," Jordan smiled and blushed a little.

"Thanks for making this for me, Jordan."

"No problem, but we haven't even gotten to the good stuff, yet." She reached under a table and brought out a polished silver shield. It was a round, hoplon-style shield, about two feet in diameter, and etched in the center was a javelin and trident crossing one another in an X shape. It was perfect.

Even Noah was impressed, "That's awesome."

"Oh, you haven't even seen the best part," Jordan smiled. She pressed a small button on the inside of the shield near the grip. The shield began to fold itself magically until it was just a silver chain bracelet in Jordan's palm. The bracelet looked like one of those medical ID bracelets. The silver bar on the bracelet had my initials engraved on it. Okay, so earrings as thank you gift just wasn't going to cut it.

Jordan handed me the bracelet, "Well?"

I was speechless, "…Um, wow."

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Okay, so last item," she said, then pulled a silver ink pen from her pocket. It was a very nice pen, one of those pens that looked like it'd cost more than a car. It was textured with parallel pinstripes etched into the silver casing and had a silver button on the top. She handed me the pen, "I thought you'd like to keep the family tradition."

Oh, my gods, was this my sword? I took the pen and clicked the button. The pen grew into a three-foot long Greek xiphos. The double edged celestial bronze blade radiated a faint glow and was razor sharp. The grip was leather-wrapped with a square guard, and the hilt was silver in a cylindrical shape. I twirled the sword in my hand, and it had the perfect weight and balance.

I looked at Jordan, "I don't know what to say. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, CJ. Oh, and try not to lose the pen. It's not enchanted like Riptide. It won't return to your pocket," she said.

"I'll try not to lose it, especially since you went out of your way to make it for me."

"Well, I just figured I'd fix you up right seeing as how you'll be on my team for capture the flag today."

"I will?" I asked. I guess the teams had already been picked.

"The winner of the sword tournament picked the teams."

"Russ got to pick?" That's just _wonderful_.

Noah nodded, "He picks fairly, though. He likes a tough fought battle."

"So, who's on what team?" I asked them.

"Cabins three, four, six, nine, ten, eleven, and a couple of the minor god cabins against the rest," Jordan said.

"It's fair," Noah added.

I was glad Noah would be on my team, but I'd be going up against Russ…and Lexie, which might not be so bad. Even when Lexie and I were only eight years old, we used to train together. We'd spar with our plastic swords and spears, and it was so much fun. I've missed that. Maybe we'll get matched against each other during the game. That could get interesting.

I thanked Jordan again and told her I owed her one before Noah and I left the forges. As Noah and I walked back toward the cabins, he nudged me with his elbow, "I think she likes you."

"I've got a girl back home, Noah."

Noah grinned, "Sure you do."

"I do," I insisted. "Her name's Nicole."

"How long have you two been dating?"

"Well…we're not actually _dating_."

Noah laughed at me. Okay, so I didn't actually have a girlfriend.

"I was planning to ask her this summer, but as you can see, those plans have flown out the window."

"I believe you, man," Noah nodded. I think he sympathized with my situation, having to put my life on hold to come here. "What about Lexie, though?"

What did he mean? "What about Lexie?"

Before Noah could answer my question, we were interrupted by Chiron trotting up to us, "Chase, just who I was looking for…and nice armor, by the way."

"Oh, thanks," I said. "So, what's up, Chiron?"

"I wanted to ask to you about your dreams."

"I'll leave you two alone to talk," Noah said then left to give me and Chiron some privacy.

Chiron and I walked through camp as I told him about my recurring nightmare. He already knew I was dreaming of a monster. Dad had told Grover about it whenever he told the satyr I was coming to camp.

Chiron rubbed his beard nervously, "You say the nightmare is becoming more vivid?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I feel like I'm running out of time to do something."

"I agree, you are."

"What am I supposed to do, Chiron? Noah says I need a quest, but there's no Oracle to give me one."

He continued rubbing his beard, "It's a dilemma."

A dilemma? It's an emergency! That girl will be killed!

"I have to do something!" I yelled. I was becoming frustrated at the situation and Chiron's lack of a solution.

The centaur put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down, "Let me make a few calls, Chase, and we'll go from there."

I raised an eyebrow, "Calls?"

"To Olympus," he clarified.

"Ah," I nodded. "Olympus, right."

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out. We won't let that girl die, okay?"

I trusted Chiron. If he said we'd be able to save her, then we would. "Okay."

"You should go get yourself ready for the game. It'll be starting soon."

"Yes, sir," I nodded to him then began to walk away from the centaur.

"Hey, Chase," Chiron called after me. "Good luck out there."

"Thanks." Luck. I was going to need it.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Several reviewers have been asking about the canon characters and the characters from TFLS, so I've posted a rundown of who to expect and when to expect them on my profile. And as far as how this series connects with the events of TFLS...be patient, all will eventually be revealed. -dmac**

6. Capture the Flag

The creek drew the line between the two teams. Nearly a hundred campers were participating in the game, about fifty on each team. Noah was right about the teams being fair; it was a pretty even match-up. Each team set up a front line at the edge of the creek. My team, the blue team, had a second line a little deeper in the woods and a small group guarding the flag. I took position in the second line, which would push into the red team's territory once their forces were scattered. Capture the flag is a game of strategy, and we have a solid strategy: disband their forces, advance into enemy territory, and take their flag with brute force. But it has to happen quickly, before enemy has time to regroup.

When the starting horn sounded, the front lines of the blue and red teams engaged each other right there in the creek. My line held steady and waited. We picked off enemy forces that made it through the front line, and when the enemy front ahead of us had diffused, we made our push across the creek and into enemy territory. Everything was going according to plan, but I knew we had to act fast. I took off running through the forest with the dozen campers in my battalion right behind me. When we would encounter an enemy force, a few soldiers on my team would break away from our group to dispatch them. I ran deeper and deeper into the forest looking for any indication of where the red team's flag might be. I remembered something my mom told me about battle strategy: when in doubt, follow the enemy. They'll lead you to what they're protecting every time. So, each time I saw a red team soldier, I would run in their direction. I zigzagged through the trees, and before I knew it, I looked back to find myself all alone. I stopped cold in my tracks. My teammates and I must've gotten separated during the engagements with the enemy and by taking the erratic path through the forest.

I ducked behind a tree for cover and looked at my surroundings. The forest was eerily quiet, only the sounds squawking of birds and rustling leaves high up in the trees could be heard. I was deep in enemy territory and may very well have passed the flag, but as I scanned the perimeter I caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of my eye. I peeked around the tree I was knelt behind and saw the tip of a red flag just over the crest of a small hill. I'd found the flag. I was so excited that when I stood to run toward the flag, I tripped over a tree root in my haste and face-planted onto the ground. Smooth, CJ, very smooth. I looked around to make sure no one saw my fancy footwork, then calmed myself as I bushed the dirt off my face. I had to play this smart. I couldn't get ahead of myself.

I snuck my way over to the bottom of the little hill, then belly-crawled to the crest. I peeked over to see the red team's flag perched on pile of rocks, and not a soul was around. This was way too easy. I stood and walked toward the flag. I had my sword and shield ready; I was fully expecting an ambush. I was just about to reach out and grab the flag when I felt the point of a sword lightly press into the back of my neck just between my helm and back plate.

"You always were good at hide and seek," the enemy voice said. I was so glad it wasn't Russ.

"Lexie."

"You didn't think I was going to let you capture our flag, did you?" she asked.

"No," I grinned. "But I'll sure take it from you."

I twirled my sword over my left shoulder, making contact with Lexie's sword, and knocking it away from my neck. When I turned to face her, she was standing ready with her imperial gold gladius (a gift from her uncle Jason) raised and a sly grin on her face. I collapsed my shield into bracelet-form and took my stance. I'd been waiting six years for this moment, for my chance to duel Lexie again.

I stepped toward my friend with my left foot, slicing upward at her with my sword. She turned on the ball of her foot, spinning out of the path of my slice. At the same time, she gripped her gladius with both hands and reverse jabbed, thrusting her blade past her hip and back, and nearly stabbing me in my right arm. I thrust my sword forward, and she stepped toward me, blocking my strike with her sword. She took another step toward me and sliced at my head. I ducked and spun around behind her. She turned around quickly and was able to block my next strike.

"Your fighting style hasn't changed a bit," she smiled. "But you're definitely a lot better, now."

"Years of practice," I returned the smile as we continued to fight.

"Your dad's a good trainer," she said as she jabbed her sword at my gut.

"Hey, watch where you're stabbing," I joked as I backed away from her. I really didn't have to worry about my Achilles spot, because my armor had it completely protected.

She laughed, "You're so sensitive about your Achilles spot."

"Am not," I denied. I swung my sword at her head and she raised her gladius to block; the sound of our blades crashing together echoed throughout the forest.

"Do you remember the time we broke your mom's lamp when we were sparring in your living room?" she asked.

The memory came rushing to my head as I spun out of the path of another one of her jabs. During the year Lexie lived in Manhattan, my dad taught us sword techniques and her mom taught us spear techniques. Once, when Lexie and I were sparring with our blunt end, broom-handle spears, Mom's lamp got hit, and it broke into a million pieces. We gathered up the pieces of ceramic and attempted to reconstruct the lamp using Elmer's glue. Needless to say, that didn't work, and we both got in trouble.

I laughed, "I remember. What made us think we could put that thing back together?"

She was laughing now, "I have no idea." She took a step back and lowered her sword, "I've missed you, CJ."

I lowered my sword, "I've missed you, too, Lexie."

She raised her sword back up and grinned, "But now, I have to take you down."

I raised my sword, "In your dreams."

She ran at me and thrust her sword at my chest. I counterthrust, and as our blades ran along the flats of each other, I knew I had her beat. I twisted my sword and began to thrust downward to knock her sword from her hand, but without warning, she twirled her blade upward, and my sword went flying out of my hand. She swiftly kicked me in my chest, and as I fell to the ground, I saw her catch my sword. She clicked the button on the guard, and it collapsed into pen-form. She sheathed her gladius and walked over to me.

"You alright?" she asked as she offered me her hand.

I took her hand, and she helped me to my feet. "Fine," I grumbled.

She handed my pen to me and smirked, "See, I told you I'd take you down."

I shrugged, "There's a first time for everything."

"Hey," she jokingly pushed my shoulder. "I've beaten you plenty of times."

Just then Russ and a few more members of the red team came marching up with the blue flag. Russ planted the flag next to the red flag. He walked over to us and wrapped his arm around Lexie, "Sorry, Jackson, you lose…again."

…

After I totally blew capture the flag and listened to Russ gloat about it while he had his hands all over Lexie, I took a long, hot shower and changed into some clean clothes. I was tired and wanted to rest, but I was too afraid that I'd have that dream again, so I didn't sleep. I just sat on my bunk and thought about things. I'd only been here two days and had already failed epically, twice. I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of life. I'm not a demigod, that's all there is to it. I lack the natural battle reflexes, the inherent skills, and the stamina of the other campers. I'm just a mortal who, by circumstances beyond my control, just happens to be invulnerable. I was beginning to wonder if this all wasn't just some big misunderstanding, that maybe I'm not supposed to be here, that the dreams are meant for someone else and were sent to me by mistake. I couldn't make sense of why the Fates would bring me here when I really didn't belong, and it was frustrating not knowing the reasoning behind it. It's not like I didn't see the other campers staring at me all the time and whispering gods know what about me. They were probably asking each other the same question I was asking myself: what am I even doing here? The more I thought about it, the more I just wanted to go home.

I left my cabin and went to the Big House to talk to Chiron about my doubts. I was about to walk into Chiron's office when I heard him talking to someone. I didn't want to interrupt him, so I stood out in the hallway and waited for him to finish. As I leaned against the wall outside his office, I overheard the conversation. I didn't recognize the voice of the man he was talking to, but the voice was kind of muffled; they were likely communicating via Iris message.

"You have done nothing to fix this situation for the past three years," Chiron said to the man.

"I'm a busy god, Chiron. I don't have time to deal with such things." So, the man Chiron was talking to was a god.

"So, you would let an innocent girl die rather than find us an Oracle?"

"Again, not my problem," the god said like he was becoming tired of the subject.

"Well then," Chiron's voice raised slightly. "Perhaps we should try to find a girl here at camp to host the spirit, one of your daughters, for instance. Alexandria would be a fine candidate."

I about lost it right then. How could Chiron even suggest that? He knows what could happen if she tried to host the spirit. She could die! What was he thinking? Then it hit me. He was on the line with Apollo, and he wanted to make the god just as mad as I was, so I refrained from bursting into the room and continued to listen.

"You wouldn't dare," the god's voice was appalled.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Lord Apollo."

"Fine," Apollo grumbled. "Give me some time, and I'll find you an Oracle. Oh, and Chiron, stay away from my daughters or you will regret it."

"Agreed, My Lord."

Apollo sighed, "I miss the days when the Oracle was a mummy."

"You didn't expect the girls to host the spirit their whole lives, did you?" Chiron asked.

"I'd hoped. I really thought that last one would stick with it."

"Lindsey?" Chiron asked.

"No, no, the one before that."

"Sarah."

"Not that one either."

"Oh, you mean Rachel," Chiron guessed.

"Yeah, yeah, Red. She was a dandy, but _nooo_, she had to go live her life. The turnover rate is almost as high now as it was a few millennia ago," Apollo complained.

"When the girls would die within a year from the noxious fumes in the caves you stuffed them in?"

"Yeah, in retrospect, that could've been handled differently, but those girls gave much more interesting and twisted prophecies back then," Apollo said, cheerfully.

"Because they were high."

"Whatever…anyway, I'll keep an eye out for an Oracle candidate."

"Just remember, we're running out of time," Chiron reminded the god. "The boy's dreams are becoming more and more vivid."

"Why do you take such heed to this legacy's dreams, anyway?" Apollo asked.

"Because I believe he's the child of prophecy, and I think you know he is," Chiron said in a tone that was as serious as a heart attack.

"_The cursed one with pure birthright,_" Apollo recited that same line Jade had muttered at lunch yesterday.

"His dreams shouldn't be taken lightly."

"No, I suppose not," Apollo agreed. "Well, it's about time this Great Prophecy came to pass. It's been far to dull for the past twenty five years."

Chiron chuckled, "What you call dull, I call relaxing."

"I'll look in to your Oracle problem, Chiron, and get back to you."

"My Lord," Chiron said, then the room went silent. The connection had ceased.

I waited a few seconds before walking into Chiron's office doorway and knocking on the doorframe. Chiron looked up from his desk when he heard me knock, "Chase. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," I said.

"Oh…well, what can I do for you then?"

I sat down in a chair and said, "I've been thinking, and I…I don't know if I belong here."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously, "It's just...just…" I couldn't spit it out. I didn't want to disappoint the guy. Apparently, he thinks I'm a _child of prophecy,_ whatever that means, and gah, why was this so hard.

Chiron smiled a sympathetic smile, "Being a newcomer at camp is tough, especially for those who are different from everyone else, just ask your father. He was the worlds worst newbie, but it didn't take him long to get settled in."

Dad did say he had a pretty humiliating first summer, and that it took a while for his confidence to build…and did Chiron just use the word _newbie_?

"You should talk to Jason," Chiron said.

"Jason?"

"He's pretty good at giving advice. He's been through a lot in his life. If anyone can help you, Chase, it's Jason."

I didn't know much about Jason. Nothing beyond what Mom and Dad said about him in stories of the voyage of the Argo II and the Giant War, and when Lexie lived in Manhattan, she always spoke fondly of her uncle. Maybe Jason could help me figure out what I needed to do.

I stood up from my chair, "I'll go talk to him."

Chiron nodded, "Very good."

I began to walk out of his office, but hesitated. I wanted to ask Chiron about this Great Prophecy and what it meant for me, but I let it go and kept walking. I'd ask Noah about it later. Noah seems to know everything that goes on around here, and I think I can trust him to tell me everything, not just what I need to hear.


	7. Chapter 7

7. We Need An Oracle

When I left the Big House, I walked across camp and into the arena to find Jason sitting alone on the first row of seats sharpening a sword. As I approached him, he looked up at me, "Chase, what can I do for you?"

"Um, Chiron said I should come talk to you."

"He did, huh? Well, what's on you mind, son?" He motioned for me to take a seat next to him, so I did.

I hesitated, but finally said, "I don't feel like I belong here."

"That's because, as a mortal, you don't belong here," he said matter-of-factly. "I know the feeling. As a Roman, I still feel like that sometimes."

"I'm thinking about going home," I continued.

"Because you don't fit in?"

"No…yes…I just, I can't keep up. I'm slow and I'm weak compared to everyone else. I don't have the natural battle reflexes or the stamina that the other campers have. The only thing I have going for me is my invulnerability, and that's useless if I can't fight."

"So, you're just going to quit?" he asked. _Quit_. I hate that word. "Son, if you quit now, you'll be a quitter for the rest of your life."

He sounded like my mom, "You sound like my mother."

"I'll take that as a compliment. She's a smart woman." He's right. She's the smartest person I know. It can be annoying.

"I'm way over my head, Jason," I sighed.

"No, you're not. And your invulnerability isn't the only thing you have going for you. Your swordsmanship is the best I've seen since your father. You're just slow to react, that's why Russ beat you in the tournament, and that's the only reason he beat you, because you have the skill. We can work on the rest."

I was surprised to hear that, "We can?"

"Sure," he nodded. "You can build stamina and hone your instincts and reflexes. You'll just have to work a little harder than everyone else. Are you willing to do that?"

My hopes were beginning to rise. If Jason thought I could do it, then maybe I really could. I nodded to my trainer, "Yes, sir."

I was about to stand up from my seat when I noticed a gorgeous woman walking across the arena toward us. "I heard you were here at camp," she smiled.

Was she talking to me? She was staring at me, and I blushed. I had no idea who she was, but _wow_. She was strikingly beautiful, and she may have been my mom's age, but still, _wow_.

"My gods, you look so much like your father." She turned to Jason, "Honey, doesn't he look just like Percy?"

"Poor kid," Jason nodded jokingly. "Chase, meet my wife."

Wife? Jason's married? To her?

My eyebrows shot up, "Your wife?"

"Calypso, daughter of Atlas," Jason introduced her.

I was stunned, to say the least, "Calypso…is your wife?"

"Hmm, looks like he's heard some stories about me," Calypso smiled.

"Apparently, not this one," Jason grinned at the dumbfounded look upon my face.

I shook my head, "No, definitely not this one."

"Ask my niece," Jason said. "She'll tell you all about it, but right now go get ready for dinner and try to get a good night's sleep. I want you here in the arena bright and early in the morning."

I nodded to Jason, "You got it."

…

The next few days went relatively smooth. I didn't get terribly beat-up in any challenges, and the campers seemed to be slowly coming around to my presence. I'd been really busy training with Jason the whole time, which didn't give me a chance to talk to Noah about this prophecy or even catch up with Lexie like I'd wanted to. When I wasn't training, I was sleeping. Jason wasn't lying when he said I'd have to work harder than everyone else. He was killing me. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that after dinner, I'd skip out on the campfire to hit the hay early, but the exhaustion didn't make the dreams stop. Every time my head hit the pillow, I dreamed of the green-eyed girl at the park who was about to be eaten by a giant snake.

On my sixth day at camp, I was in the arena training with some of the Hermes kids when Noah and Lexie came looking for me.

"CJ!" Lexie yelled at me.

I turned toward her, and when I did, the guy I was sparring with took advantage of the distraction and nailed me in the chest with the hilt of his sword. Of course, I went crashing to the ground, and the kid laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever done, which, seeing as how he was a son of Hermes, was highly unlikely.

Lexie and Noah came running over to me, and Noah helped me up off the ground. Lexie grinned, "You let your guard down."

"I guess I should've just ignored you."

"Ooo," Noah mock-winced. "I think I'd rather be knocked to the ground than face the wrath of an ignored Lexie Grace."

Lexie narrowed her eyes at Noah, "Shut-up."

"So, what's going on?" I asked them.

"Chiron wants to see us at the Big House," Noah said.

"Are we in trouble?" I didn't know why he'd want to see us, but in my experience, when I get called to the office, it's because I'm in trouble.

"I'm not in trouble," Noah defended himself. "Lexie, what did you do?"

"Don't look at me. I'm not a trouble-maker," she insisted, and I found that hard to believe.

"Why does he want to see us?" I asked.

Lexie shrugged, "He didn't say."

I was curious now, "Well, let's go, then."

As we walked out of the arena, I got the feeling this might be about my dreams, and that made me want to ask Noah about the prophecy, so I stopped walking.

"What's wrong, CJ?" Lexie asked me.

"Nothing, I just need to ask Noah something. You go on ahead, Lexie. We'll catch up."

She gave me a suspicious look, but let it go, "Okay, but don't take too long."

When she got out of earshot, I turned to Noah, but he spoke before I could, "Yes, she actually said something about you today."

"Huh?" I was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Lexie. Is that not what you were going to ask me?"

"Um, no, but she said something about me?"

Noah nodded, "She said she was impressed by how hard you've been working the last few days."

I couldn't help but smile. She actually noticed.

Noah rolled his eyes, "Oh, wipe that grin off your face. I'm impressed, too."

I laughed, "Well, thanks."

"If that's not what you were going to ask, then-"

"The prophecy," I blurted out before I lost my nerve.

"What prophecy?" he asked.

"The one that goes something like _the cursed one with pure birthright_."

"Oh, that one. Umm…" Noah trailed off. I got the feeling he didn't want to talk about it.

"You know what it means and who it's about, don't you?"

"Do you?" he asked.

Really? Would I be asking if I knew? "No, Noah, that's why I'm asking."

"What have you heard?"

"Just that line. Jade said it at lunch at last week, then a few days ago Apollo said it."

Noah's jaw dropped, "When did you see Apollo?"

I shook my head, "I didn't see him. I overheard him and Chiron talking."

Noah's mouth was still wide open, "You were spying on Chiron and Apollo? Oh, you are in trouble. How did I get brought into this? I wasn't even there."

"Noah!" I had to stop his rambling. "You're not in trouble. If anyone's in trouble it's me, and it's not for spying. Am I the child of prophecy? Is that line about me?"

Noah scratched his head, "Theoretically, maybe. Um…yeah, probably."

My hands went straight to the top of my head, "Ugh, this can't be happening."

"I can't believe you didn't already know about this," he said. "Didn't your parents tell you?"

Oh, now I was really getting irritated, "My parents knew?"

"Well, since the Oracle who gave the prophecy gave it to them, I think it'd be safe to say they knew."

I can't believe my parents knew all this time and didn't tell me. "Boy, do they have some explaining to do."

Noah knew I was fuming, so he stayed quiet while I stewed in my own frustrations and self-pity. I took a breath and asked, "What's the rest of it?"

Noah shook his head, "I don't know."

"I'm tired of being lied to!"

"Hey, take it easy! I'm telling you the truth," Noah insisted. "I only know the first line: _the cursed one with pure birthright will sink to lows and raise to heights. _If you want to know the rest, you should ask Chiron or your parents, because I don't know."

I was still steaming over the fact that my parents knew about this and didn't tell me. I knew Dad was keeping something from me, that he was holding something back, but this? He probably didn't want to worry me, but seriously, that's some pretty vital information to be withholding.

"Come on," Noah said. "We should get to the Big House."

Noah and I walked to the Big House to find Lexie and Chiron waiting on us. Lexie looked straight at me. "CJ, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I'm okay," I assured her, then turned to Chiron, "What's this all about?"

Before Chiron could answer, there was a bright shimmer of light there on the porch, and Apollo appeared out of thin air. I knew it was Apollo because I'd met him once at Lexie's eighth birthday party. He doesn't look old enough to be her dad; he barely looks thirty, but I guess gods can look however they please.

"Dad!" Lexie ran to her father and gave him a big hug. Relationships like theirs is uncommon for gods and their demigod children, but Apollo and Lexie have always been close.

"Hey, baby doll," the god smiled at his daughter. "Long time, no see."

"Tell me about it," Lexie said. "I hate it when you and Mom are on the outs. I hardly ever see you."

"Oh, let's not get started on your mother."

Lexie laughed, "So, what are you doing here?"

Apollo raised his arms dramatically, "I'm here to give a quest."

"For real!" Lexie was ecstatic. "You're giving me a quest?"

Apollo lowered his arms, "Um, no sweetheart. The quest is for your friend."

"What!" Now, she was pissed. "Why does Noah get a quest and not me?"

"No, not that friend, the other one," Apollo pointed at me.

"You're giving me a quest?" I asked him. "You do realize I've only been a camper for a week, right?"

"You're the one having the dreams, are you not?" he asked.

"Well, yeah," I nodded.

"Then you get the quest."

"Are you our Oracle now?" Noah asked the god.

I thought Apollo was going to fall over laughing. "No, kid, but that's what this quest is all about. The quest is to find the new Oracle."

Wait a second, I needed to save the girl in my dreams, not go looking for an Oracle. "What about the girl in my dreams?" I asked Apollo.

"This girl you're dreaming about, she's got glowing green eyes and is staring down a Python, yes?" Apollo asked.

"That's right," I nodded, then it hit me. "The girl in my dreams, she's the new Oracle."

"And we have a winner!"

"So, what's my quest? I get a cryptic and ambiguous poem, right?"

Apollo cleared his throat to make his delivery more dramatic,

"_Three heroes must act swiftly a__nd travel southbound to Albany._

_A patron goddess will show the way t__hrough the land of red dirt clay._

_The garden of heroes holds the key t__o finding the one who can truly see._

_Pursuers will impede the safe return o__f heroes and legacies with a blaze to burn."_

Definitely ambiguous.

"So, Albany," Lexie said.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, that's not too far from here."

"Um, guys, it means Albany, Georgia, not Albany, New York. Red dirt clay, that's Georgia," Noah clarified.

I had to sing it. I couldn't resist, "_GA, the peach state, where we stay, my small city's called Albany..._"

"_Georgia…_" Lexie finished the verse when I pointed to her. Gods, she has an incredible singing voice.

Chiron looked at us like we'd lost our minds, "What was that?"

Apollo smiled, "Ludacris."

Chiron nodded, "You've got that right."

We all busted out laughing at Chiron, and the look on his face said he had no idea what was so funny.

Apollo was still chuckling when he put his hand on my shoulder, "I like this guy."

"Three heroes," Lexie said when she finally stopped laughing. "That's us three, right?"

Chiron shrugged, "Well, Chase actually gets to choose his companions, but I thought-"

"Of course," I cut in. "Lexie and Noah are who I want with me on this quest."


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: For all of you who have read _The First Legion Series_, I've published a new fic called _The In Between_, which is a collection of drabbles about what happened to the characters in _TFLS_ after _The Gigantomachy_. It's meant to answer questions raised at the end of _TFLS_ and the beginning of _H&L_.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**-dmac**

8. Midnight Train to Georgia

Lexie, Noah, and I went to our cabins to pack a bag; we'd be embarking on our journey to Georgia after dinner. Boarding a plane isn't a good idea for Noah and me, especially Noah because he's the son of a Titan. Zeus has no sympathy demititans, and I wouldn't put it past the king of the gods to strike the plane down even with his granddaughter on board. I've never actually been on a plane, myself. Mom said Zeus probably wouldn't even notice me in his domain because I'm mortal, but still, my parents never wanted to take that chance. So, since flying isn't an option, we'll be taking the train; the Amtrak has a route from Penn Station to Atlanta. The earliest departure is tonight at midnight, and we'll be on it.

As I loaded a backpack with a change of clothes, toiletries, and a few other items, I couldn't decide whether the anxiety I was feeling was excitement or dread.

"Are you nervous?" Jade asked me.

"Is it that obvious?"

Jade put her magazine down and sat up in her bunk, "Actually, no. You look really calm. You should've seen me when I got my first quest. I was running around like a decapitated chicken."

I laughed. That must've been a sight to behold. "What was the quest?" I asked her.

"Eh, nothing big, really. I had to mediate a dispute between the Hudson and East Rivers. They don't really get along."

"So, I've heard."

"Anyway," she continued. "The rivers were threatening to rise over their banks and flood millions of dollars worth of property. Dad didn't have time to deal with it, so he sent me on a quest to resolve the dispute."

"And you did," I nodded. "I remember a couple years ago the rivers almost flooded. They crested just before they spilled over their banks. You stopped the flood. That's awesome, Jade."

Her pale cheeks turned rosy, "Aw, shucks, CJ."

"I hope my quest goes as good as yours."

Jade smiled, "It will. I have faith in you. You'll do great."

She really boosted my confidence, "Thanks, Jade."

…

After dinner and the campfire, Lexie, Noah, and I met under Thalia's pine there at the top of Half-Blood Hill. Argus, the creepy guy with eyes all over his body, was bringing the van around to take us to the train station.

Chiron was there to see us off. He put his hand on my shoulder, "You know, it seems like just yesterday I was standing on this hill with your parents." He turned to Lexie, "And your mother, too."

Lexie looked up at that towering pine with longing. I don't know how long it's been since she's seen her mom, but from the far away look in her eyes, I'd say it's been a while.

Headlights shined down the old farm road as Argus pulled the white camp van around to the base of the hill. The horn honked twice; it was time begin my quest.

"Well," Chiron said. "You heroes be safe, and good luck."

We thanked Chiron for the well wishes, then walked down the hill to the van. We climbed aboard, and Argus pulled away from Camp Half-Blood. I looked back wondering if I'd ever see camp again.

"Are you okay, CJ?" Lexie asked when she saw me looking back.

I turned to her and nodded, "I'm alright."

"You should try to get some sleep before we get to the train station."

I wasn't thrilled about the idea of sleep. I knew I'd just have that nightmare again, but I was pretty tired. "I'll try," I told her. I leaned over in the third row seat of the van and rested my head on my pack. In only a few short minutes, I was out.

My dream started differently than it had over the last two weeks. I was in a dark room. I couldn't see anything, but I heard footsteps approaching me. It sounded like high heels on a stone floor.

"Chase," I heard a woman's voice whisper my name. "Stop short of Atlanta, Chase, and I will guide you on your journey."

I woke just as the van stopped in front of Penn Station. I rubbed my eyes and wracked my brain trying to recall the woman's voice from my dream. The voice was familiar, but because she was whispering, I couldn't place her. She offered to help, so I guess she's on our side. She said to stop short of Atlanta, so I assume she meant we'd need to get off the train somewhere, but where, exactly?

"CJ, CJ…hello, Earth to CJ," Lexie waved her hand in front of my face to get my attention.

I snapped out of my thoughts, "What?"

Lexie grinned, "Where were you just now?"

"Oh, I just had another weird dream, that's all."

She nodded, "Welcome to a hero's life."

Lexie, Noah, and I stepped out onto the curb there at Penn Station and watched Argus drive away. We were on our own now. I couldn't help but think about how close I was to my house. I could hop in a cab and be home in fifteen minutes, and I wanted to. I won't lie, if Lexie and Noah hadn't been there with me, I probably would've.

"Come on, CJ," Noah said. "Let's get our tickets."

We got our train tickets to Atlanta, then sat down on a bench in the station; it would be another thirty minutes before the train began boarding passengers.

"Guys," Lexie stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom, then to hit the vending machine. Want anything?"

"Sprite," Noah said to her. Sprite? Gross.

"CJ?"

"A Dr. Pepper, please." I sure miss _real _Dr. Pepper.

"Sprite and Dr. Pepper, got it," she nodded. "I'll be back in a few. Don't go wandering off."

Noah and I sat in silence for a few moments as we scanned our perimeter and took in our surroundings. If there's one thing I've learned from being the son of two demigods, you never know what to expect, especially late at night.

"It looks clear," Noah said. "I don't see anything suspicious."

"Me either," I agreed.

"Have you ever been attacked by a monster?" he asked me.

"No, not personally, but I've been with my mom and dad when they were attacked a few times. What about you?"

"I had some close calls when Mom and I were on the run, but this is my first time to leave camp since I got there four years ago."

Noah hasn't been in the outside world in four years? I had no idea this was his first time on a quest, too. "Noah, you didn't have to come if you didn't want to. I could've asked someone else."

"No, no, I wanted to come," he assured me. "It was time for me to get out of there, time for me to face the world again."

I smiled, "I'm glad you came."

"Thanks, man."

Suddenly, there was a loud crash around the corner where the vending machines were. My first thought was that Lexie was being literal when she said she was going to hit the vending machine, but when I saw three bottled beverages rolling down the hallway, I knew something was wrong. I shot up from my seat, "Lexie!"

Noah and I ran down the hall and rounded the corner just in time to see an arrow pierce a leaping animal. It looked like a dog…a really big dog. It was shaggy like a wolf, and had black fur with white and red markings on its face, paws, and tail. The monster howled when the arrow sunk into its hide, then it burst into dust right there in mid-air.

"Gods, Lexie are you alright?" Noah asked as I was too stunned or maybe too scared to speak.

"I'm fine," she said nonchalantly as her bow collapsed into a hairpin. She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair, pulled it up, and replaced the hairpin.

"What was that thing?" I asked once my heart had retreated from my throat and back into my chest.

"A Teumessian fox," she said. "They're a cakewalk to kill. To capture as a pet, though, not so much. I used to see them all the time in Miami."

I sometimes forget how much experience Lexie's had with monsters. I was still worried about her, though. "You're sure you're alright?" I asked.

She put her hand on my shoulder for reassurance and smiled, "I'm fine, CJ. I'm just sorry you two missed all the fun."

I laughed, "I'm sure there'll be plenty more to be had along the way."

"No doubt."

A voice called over the station's intercom, "_Twelve a.m. Amtrak train number 544 New York to Atlanta is now boarding._"

"That's us," Noah said.

We grabbed up our drinks that had rolled across the floor, then headed to our train. As we boarded the fairly empty passenger car and took our seats, I looked around the cabin. There were only six other passengers in the car: a young couple, probably in their twenties, a business man in a suit with his head buried in his laptop, a middle aged woman reading a magazine, and two kids, a guy and a girl, possibly siblings, that looked to be in their late teens.

An attendant walked by us and said we could move to any of other empty seats if it would make us more comfortable as there would be no one else boarding until the next stop. Noah moved to an empty seat on the other side of the isle from Lexie and me so he could lean back and get some sleep, but Lexie and I kept our seats across from one another. I felt the train lurch forward, and in a few short minutes we were cruising down the tracks.

"So," Lexie began. "Tell me about these dreams you've been having."

I told her about the green-eyed girl in the park that's supposed to be our new Oracle, and I told her about the giant snake-monster. I also told her about my latest dream of the dark room and the woman's voice.

She furrowed her brow, "That's strange."

"Which part?" I found it all to be strange.

"Pythons are cursed to be protectors and guardians of Oracles, not enemies."

"It's a monster, Lexie, not a protector."

"Not all monsters are enemies," she said. "Take Peleus, for example. He's a dragon, which qualifies him as a monster, but he's one of the good guys, just like Mrs. O'Leary and your uncle Tyson."

She had a point. I never really thought about it that way. "Then why would the snake attack her if it's supposed to be her guardian?"

Lexie shook her head, "I don't know, CJ."

"There's something else, too," I began. "Noah said bad things have happened to the last few girls who tried to host the spirit."

Lexie nodded, sadly, "Bad doesn't even cover it."

"Say we do rescue this girl from the Python, how are we supposed to convince her to become our new Oracle? _Hey, would you like to come to our camp to have your body taken over by a prophetic spirit who may or may not vaporize you or drive you mad? Oh, and you get a free bead necklace with that._ Yeah, that'd have to be the worst sales pitch ever."

"We'll figure something out. Maybe she really is the one. Dad seemed pretty convinced she was." Apollo would be the one to know.

I heard a loud noise from across the isle where Noah was sitting. I looked over to see him sound asleep and snoring. Lexie and I both laughed.

"You should sleep, too," I told her.

"I will, but I'm not very tired right now. Must've been that Coke I drank."

I smiled, "Remember the sleepovers when we'd sneak sodas into our sheet and pillow fort, and we'd be up all night from a sugar and caffeine rush."

Lexie laughed, "Oh, my gods, and your Superman pj's. You were so cute."

"It wasn't cute," I pouted. "It was rugged and manly."

"Gods," Lexie exhaled when she finally stopped laughing. "It all seems like such a long time ago."

"It was a long time ago. Six years is a long time, but I remember it like it was yesterday."

Lexie smiled a sad smile, "You know, I cried when Mom moved us back to Miami. I wanted to stay in New York with you."

I knew the feeling. I was devastated when Lexie moved away. I couldn't understand why my best friend would just pack up and leave me like that. I know it wasn't her fault. With age came understanding and time made her absence easier, until eventually, I barely gave her a second thought at all. That is, until I saw her again for the first time since she left.

"We're together, now," I smiled. "That's all that matters. I've finally got my friend back."

"And I'm not going anywhere, this time."

Lexie and I spent the next couple of hours just catching up like I'd wanted to do for days, now. She told me that a couple of years after she moved back to Miami, her mom finally had to send her to camp because the monster attacks were becoming too frequent. That was the reason they moved to Manhattan in the first place. Miami is swarming with monsters, the Everglades being a nesting ground for them and all, especially since the centaurs had moved out. Lexie now spends summers at Camp Half-Blood and spends the rest of the year in California at the Roman camp. Since she's a daughter of Apollo, whose name and aspect are the same in both the Greek and Roman worlds, that makes her a child of both worlds, so she's welcome at both camps. She and her uncle Jason travel between camps together, and she attends school at the Roman camp. She said she usually only gets to see her mom on holidays, and that she really misses her. No doubt, she does; I've only been away from home for a little over a week now, and I already miss my parents.

As we talked, I noticed she kept glancing over my shoulder, looking toward the back of the passenger car. She had that suspicious look on her face, but she didn't really seem worried. After about the third time she looked past me, I was getting concerned.

"What is it, Lexie?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep looking behind me. What are you looking at?" I asked, then began to turn to look back.

"Don't look," she insisted, so I didn't turn around. "You remember seeing two teenagers, a girl and a guy, when we boarded?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I saw them. What about them?"

"It's probably nothing, but the guy keeps staring at me. And he looks kinda familiar, too."

"Do you think you might've met him before?"

She shook her head, "No, no, I don't think so."

I shrugged, "Maybe he just thinks your pretty, and that's why he can't keep his eyes off you."

She just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"What? It could be possible, you know. I mean, look at you, you are really pretty." As soon as I said that, I felt my face get red hot, and she blushed, too, which led to a moment of awkward silence between us. Why did I have to open my big, fat mouth?

Finally, I broke the silence and changed the subject, "So, your uncle Jason and Calypso, how did that happen?"

I couldn't resist asking her about Jason and Calypso. Dad had told me some pretty interesting stories about the titan's daughter, and I was curious how she and Jason ended up together. Apparently, Jason had been stranded on her island when he was a kid just like Dad had, but Jason and Calypso had gotten a bit closer than she and Dad did. When Jason came to Camp Half-Blood to become a trainer, she was there; Zeus had finally released her from her island prison. They picked up their relationship where they'd left off all those years ago, and eventually, they got married. Lexie told the story like it was the most romantic thing ever, and I guess it was pretty romantic.

We continued to trade stories, but the later it got, the more exhausted we became, and eventually, we both fell asleep.

**AN: If you're interested in Jason and Calypso's relationship, check out chapters 8 and 9 of _The Argonauts,_ if you haven't already. -dmac**


	9. Chapter 9

9. Pit Stop in Raleigh

I woke to Lexie shaking my shoulder. The sun was shining in through the passenger car window, and the train had stopped.

I yawned, "Where are we?"

"Raleigh. We've got to switch trains, remember?"

That's right. We have a two-hour layover in Raleigh between trains. I grabbed my pack and followed Lexie and Noah off the train. It was already mid-morning, and my stomach was grumbling.

"Can we find something to eat?" I asked them.

"Dude, you read my mind," Noah said.

"Breakfast does sound pretty good," Lexie agreed.

We left the train station and walked a few blocks until we found a diner that was serving breakfast. We took a seat near the back of the café and ordered our food. I got bacon, eggs, and a cup of coffee, Lexie got oatmeal and orange juice, and Noah got chocolate milk and a platter with every breakfast food imaginable. That guy sure can put away some food.

As we ate, I thought about my dream of the dark room and the whispering woman. I wondered if this is where she meant we needed to stop. "Do you think the lady in my dream meant we needed to stop here?" I asked Lexie. "She said to stop short of Atlanta and she would guide me."

"Who was the lady in your dream?" Noah asked. I hadn't yet told him about that dream.

"I'm not sure, Noah. I couldn't see her. I just heard her voice."

Lexie shook her head, "I don't know, CJ. This is far short of Georgia, much less Atlanta."

"I wonder if she was the patron goddess. You know, the line from the quest," Noah said as he chewed his food, and I wanted to tell him not to talk with his mouth full. Oh, gods, I'm turning into my mother.

"_A patron goddess will show the way through the land of red dirt clay,_" Lexie recited the line of the quest. "I think we need to get off the train somewhere in Georgia before we get to Atlanta."

"But where, though?"

Noah shrugged, "Maybe we'll get a sign or something."

Just then, Lexie grabbed my arm. Her eyes were fixed on something across the diner. "What?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

"They're here," she said with worry as she continued to grip my arm.

"Who's here?" Noah asked, but I knew exactly who she was talking about. I followed her gaze to the other side of the diner where the two older teens from the train were sitting.

"Looks like you have a stalker, Lexie," I teased.

"This isn't funny, CJ."

I tried to ease her mind, "Come on, it's nothing. They were probably hungry like us."

She slowly let go of my arm, "You're probably right, but that guy creeps me out."

"What are you two talking about?" Noah was clueless.

She didn't even take the time to explain it to him, "Come on, guys, let's get out of here and back to the train station."

I left some cash on the table to pay for our meals, and as we walked out of the diner, we walked right by the table where the two teens were sitting. I was able to get a good look at them when I passed. The girl was younger than I initially thought. She was probably only fifteen or so. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail revealing her dark green eyes and her rugged beauty. Strangely enough, she reminded me of Jordan from back at camp. The guy was older, probably seventeen or eighteen. He was an athletic-looking guy with shaggy, sandy-blond hair and blue eyes. And like Lexie said, there was something about him that was oddly familiar. Now that I'd gotten a better look at them, I decided it was unlikely these two were siblings, and they didn't act like a couple, so maybe they were just friends or something. They were just two kids traveling across the country on a train like we were, which, if you really think about it, was kinda suspicious.

As we walked back toward the train station, Lexie kept looking over her shoulder. "Are they following us?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "No, they're not following."

"See, I told you it was nothing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, though she didn't really sound convinced.

"I don't get it. What is it about-," Noah stopped mid-sentence and stopped cold in his tracks. He turned and looked down an alleyway that we were walking past. "Did you guys hear that?"

Lexie and I stopped, too. "Hear what? What is it, Noah?" I asked.

"There's something down there," he pointed down the shady ally that was lined with trash dumpsters.

"Something? Like what kind of something?" I asked.

Lexie shuddered, "Probably rats."

"Oh, definitely rats, but something else, too." Noah, being left-handed, put his left hand on the grip of his sheathed katana, and began walking into the ally. I pulled my pen from my pocket, Lexie pulled her hairpin from her bun, and we followed Noah into the alleyway.

The ally was long, about two hundred yards, and it dead-ended with a five-story brick wall that was the north side of a building. The buildings on both sides of the ally were also brick and stood about five stories, making the ally shady and gloomy even during the day. Every twenty feet or so, there was a blue or green garbage dumpster on either side of the ally. No telling what could be hiding behind or inside those dumpsters.

"Children," a raspy voice echoed in the ally. "I love children. Come, let me eat you."

We readied our weapons. Nobody was eating me, that's for sure.

"Show yourself," Lexie demanded. Why does she have to be so brazen?

A woman, well, I think it was a woman, came out from behind a dumpster about twenty feet from us. The lower half of her body was that of a serpent, which made me shudder. Have I mentioned I have a problem with snakes? As the monster slithered closer to us, I noticed her face was horribly disfigured. She looked like she'd been hit in the head with a baseball bat…multiple times, and her eyes were constantly moving and twitching like she had no control over them.

She lifted her head and made a noise like she was sniffing the air. "I smell sea god," she said. Oh, great, she smelled me. She pointed at me with her five-inch long fingernail. "Hello, cousin."

Wait, what? "I know you're not talking to me," I gaped.

I think she tried to smile, "Oh, but I am. That is why I can smell you, mortal. You see, Poseidon is also my grandfather." That god really gets around. "I'm Lamia," she continued. "And I'm hungry."

I cut my eyes toward Lexie, "Lamia?"

She shook her head, "Don't get me lying."

"Once queen of Libya, transformed into a child-eating daemon," Noah informed us. "Granddaughter of Poseidon and Lybie."

So, she was my cousin. I think I just threw-up a little in my mouth.

"It's all Hera's fault," the monster hissed as she slithered closer to us, and we carefully backed away. "I was once so beautiful that the king of the gods himself courted me, and I bore his children."

I think Lexie might've just thrown-up a little in her mouth, too.

"Hera was angered by this. She killed my children and turned me into this hideous creature." Certainly sounds like something Hera would do. She can't seem to keep her nose out of anyone's business, can she? She definitely hasn't made life easy for my parents over the years, especially my mom.

"If you would've kept your skanky paws off my _married_ grandpa, then none of that would've happened, now would it?" Lexie berated, and I wanted to sew her mouth shut, already. She was gonna get us all killed.

The monster narrowed her twitchy eyes at Lexie, "I will devour you slowly and savor every last drop of your blood, granddaughter of Zeus."

"Try it, you sorry excuse for a Gorgon wannabe!"

Noah turned to Lexie, "Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

"I'm kinda on the spot here, Noah. Get off me."

The monster'd had enough, and she lunged at Lexie. Lexie dove away, and Noah and I both struck Lamia with our swords. She hissed in pain and whipped her serpent tail around, knocking Noah and I to the ground. Lamia turned back to Lexie who drew the string back on her bow, and an arrow magically notched on the string. It's pretty cool, actually. She never has to carry a quiver full of arrows; they just magically appear when she needs them. Her dad hooked her up good with that magical item; she's so spoiled. She released the string and the arrow flew straight and fast, piercing the monster in her left eye.

Lamia screeched and grabbed the arrow sticking out of her eye. She tried to pull it out of her head, but it wasn't budging.

I turned to Noah, "What do you think? Slice and dice?"

He nodded, "You flank left, and I'll flank right. Let's cut her down to size."

Lexie drew her bowstring again and was yelling some obscenity at the monster to hold her attention while Noah and I approached from the sides. Lexie released another arrow, piercing Lamia in the throat. She gagged, and Noah and I took advantage of the distraction. We thrust our swords into the monsters backside, and she again whaled in pain. She whipped her snake-tail around, but we anticipated the move and were able to jump the monsters squirming tail. Lexie, however, was caught off guard by the sudden whipping of Lamia's tail, and it knocked her off her feet. Still on the ground, Lexie drew the string back on her bow and fired another arrow at the monster, hitting her in the other eye. Damn, she has good aim.

Now blind, Lamia was defenseless. Noah and I gripped our swords tightly with both hands and swung at the monster's midsection with everything we had. Our blades sliced through the monster's body like hot knives through butter, effectively cutting Lamia in half where her serpent form met her human form. The two halves fell to the ground and quivered uncontrollably until they burst into dust.

I stared at the pile of dust for a moment. This was the first monster I'd ever killed. I looked up at Noah and Lexie, "Well, that was exciting…and quite disturbing."

As soon as I said that, a train whistle blew a few blocks down. Lexie looked down at her watch, "Guys, our train leaves in four minutes."

"We'd better run," Noah said, then took off out of the ally toward the train station with Lexie and me right on his heels.

When we entered the station I heard an announcement over the intercom, "_Final boarding call for train 226 Raleigh to Atlanta. Final boarding call…_"

We sprinted through the station and made it to our train just in time. We boarded the passenger car and took our seats as we tried to catch our breath.

"That was close," Noah said.

"Too close," Lexie agreed.

An attendant walked by us, and I got her attention, "Excuse me, miss, how long will it take to get to Atlanta?"

"It'll be several hours," she said. "We have to make a couple stops along the way."

"Where are the stops?" I asked her.

"We'll be stopping in Charlotte and Athens before reaching Atlanta."

Athens…if that's not a sign, I don't know what is.

I nodded to the attendant, "Thank you, ma'am." I looked at Noah and Lexie who both had smiles on their faces, "We'll be getting off in Athens."

They both nodded, "Yep."

The train ride was long and uncomfortable. Unlike the last passenger car we were in, this one was full. There were only a few empty seats in the entire car. I tried to get some rest, but between the adrenalin still pumping from the fight, the chatter from the passengers, and the sun shining in through the window, there was no way I was going to get any sleep. I was bored, so I twirled my pen between my fingers, careful not to press the button. That would've been awkward if my pen grew into sword-form right there in the middle of the crowded passenger car. There's no telling what the Mist would've manipulated that image into. I almost wished it had an actual pen-mode so I could doodle on the back of my hand or something. If I was bored enough to want to draw on myself, Lexie and Noah were probably losing their minds. ADHD and long, boring trips don't really mesh. I know, because both my parents are ADHD. Even as adults, they're fidgety and spacey. My dog has a longer attention span than they do sometimes. I've been around it for so long that I didn't really notice Noah tapping his foot uncontrollably or Lexie biting all her nails off. It wasn't until I thought about it that I realized how miserable they must be.

"We'll be there soon, guys," I told them. Neither of them said a word. Honestly, I don't think they even heard me speak.

It was about an hour later when our train stopped at the Athens-Clarke County Station. We grabbed our packs and exited the stuffy passenger car. We went straight for a vendor in the station selling cold drinks. We let the vendor talk us into getting sweet iced tea with lemon. It was the southern tradition he said, and I could see why. I think I found my new favorite drink.

We walked out of the station and onto the sidewalk there in downtown Athens. It was a warm and muggy evening in northern Georgia, and the air smelled of blooming gardenias, southern-fried chicken, and peach cobbler. My stomach rumbled. Downtown was bustling as it was dinnertime and people were making their way to the many restaurants. I could see the University of Georgia only a few blocks away and a number of hotels that dotted the downtown area.

It had been a long day, and we were all tired. "We should find a place to crash for the night," I said.

"I think I can help with that," a woman's voice said from behind us. I recognized her voice as the voice in my dream. We all turned around to see a beautiful, gray-eyed woman in a simple, yet elegant white dress standing before us. It was Athena, patron goddess of Athens…my grandmother.


	10. Chapter 10

10. The Patron Goddess

We bowed our heads to the goddess. I haven't seen my grandmother in years, and those times I had seen her were few and far between, birthdays and holidays, mostly. It's amazing how much my mother looks like her. At first glance just now, I had to blink because I thought she was Mom.

"I'm glad to see you three made it safely," she said, then looked straight at me. "How are you, my grandchild?"

"Tired, My Lady," I replied.

"Come," she gestured for us to follow her. "There's a place not far from here where you heroes can rest for the night."

We followed the goddess to a hotel right in the heart of downtown Athens. The hotel was a village-style complex with traditional southern colonial architecture that was so exquisite it would've made Mom drool. It was modest in size, only two stories. The timber façade was white with black shuttered windows, and it had expansive verandas overlooking the cobblestone streets and the blooming Crape Myrtles.

"Foundry Park," Athena smiled. "The loveliest hotel in all of Athens. It's a quaint, country haven right here in the heart of the city."

"It's gorgeous," Lexie admired the hotel.

I nodded, "The pitched roof adds a nice appearance of height and space while the evenly-spaced, narrow windows and shutters give it perfect symmetry. The large, diagonal chimney stacks are a nice touch, too; kinda gives it a medieval characteristic."

Noah and Lexie were staring at me.

"What?" I shrugged. "My mom's an architect. Give me a break."

We walked into the hotel lobby to find the inside of the hotel was no less impressive than the outside. It was a sweeping expanse of southern charm and simplicity. Athena led us through the lobby toward a staircase. The goddess smiled and nodded toward a hostess behind the lobby counter, and the hostess returned the smile and nod. Obviously, Athena was a regular guest at Foundry Park. We walked up the staircase to the second floor then down the long hallway the very last door.

A keycard appeared in Athena's hand, and she opened the room's door. "The Presidential Suite," she said as we walked into the room.

The suite was huge. It was bigger than the apartment my parents and I lived in before they bought the Brownstone a few years ago. It had a spacious living area with two sofas and a brick fireplace and a dining area with a table for six. The kitchenette was modern with smooth granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The entire suite was comforting and inviting with an atmosphere that was homey and relaxing. As Athena showed us around the suite, she told us this is where she always stays when she's in Athens, which interestingly enough, is most often during college football season. She's a hardcore UGA Bulldogs fan. What's that expression they use in the south? …Bless her heart. They haven't exactly had a solid team the last few seasons.

I was admiring the four poster, king size bed in the master bedroom when I heard Lexie's voice echo in the master bath, "Whoa."

I walked into the bathroom, "What is it?"

She was staring at a gigantic Jacuzzi tub, and she didn't take her eyes off it when she said, "I'm soaking in that tub."

"Um, okay."

She looked at me with her serious-face, "Right now. Go away."

I felt my grandmother's hand on my shoulder, "Let's leave the young lady to her bath."

As we walked back into the living area, Noah said, "You know, a hot shower does sound really good."

Athena pointed toward another room, "There's a full bath in the guest room."

"CJ, can you order up some room service while I clean up? I'm starving," he asked as he picked up his pack, then he turned to Athena, "If that's okay?"

Athena nodded, "It's already on its way up."

Noah went to the guest bath to clean up, and my grandmother and I sat down on the sofas in the living room. "It pleases me to see you well, child," she said.

"It's nice to see you, too, Grandmother. It's been a long time. I didn't even recognize your voice in my dream."

"It's regretful that I don't get to visit my children and grandchildren very often, but that doesn't mean I don't check in on them from time to time. Just because you can't see me, Chase, doesn't mean I'm not there."

It was nice to know she cared enough to check up on me and help me on this quest. "I appreciate you letting us stay here."

"It's my pleasure. This is an important quest for you, and I want to see my grandson succeed. I'll give you guidance along your journey, but the success or failure of this quest will rest entirely upon your shoulders."

"Way to lay on the pressure," I groaned.

"You're special, Chase. I'm sure you're learning that fact. You have a long row to hoe, and it won't be easy. You'll face challenges you've never imagined, but if you keep your focus, work hard, and overcome your fatal flaw, you will truly be a hero for the ages."

Fatal flaws, every hero has one. Dad's is his personal loyalty, Mom's is her pride, but I have no idea what mine is. "What's my fatal flaw, Grandmother?"

She grinned, "You'll figure it out."

Not helpful. If she wouldn't tell me that, maybe she could answer a more pressing question, "Am I the child of prophecy? I keep hearing about a Great Prophecy, and everyone seems to think it's about me."

"Everyone's correct," she nodded. "You are the child of prophecy. You were destined to be long before you were even a twinkle in your parent's eyes. Now, it's up to you to determine how the Great Prophecy will play out."

"But I don't even know the prophecy," I complained. "I've only heard the first line."

"That's not important, not yet. You'll hear it in its entirety when the time's right. Until then, just focus on the tasks at hand. It's not yet time for you to know what the Fates have in store for you."

That frustrated me. I hated being in the dark. I can't plan or strategize when I don't know what to expect. I guess Athena could tell I harbored some spite toward the situation. "You're a thinker like your mother," she said. "That's why this is so frustrating for you. You don't have that reckless abandon your father has, which as much as it pains me to say it, is unfortunate in some ways."

My dad's not really one to think things through or plan ahead, but from what I've seen, he's at his best under pressure and when dealing with the unexpected. He acts on instinct and can come up with some quick and clever solutions in volatile situations. He's more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kind of hero. Now, Mom, she's quick to react, too, but she tends to analyze every move before she makes it. Her deduction capabilities and perceptive abilities are what give her an edge under pressure, and her vast knowledge allows her to have reasonable expectations, giving her the ability to think ahead in those same scenarios.

Because I don't have those natural instincts that demigods have, I tend to be more like Mom in this case. If I have a good idea of what to expect, I can better prepare myself for multiple scenarios, allowing for quicker reaction time. Even Jason agrees that having reasonable expectations will help me hone my instincts until, eventually, it comes natural for me. He said I'll be thinking so fast that I won't even know I'm thinking. It'll seem like I'm running on instinct when, in reality, I'm just using my knowledge, perceptions, and deductions at a rapid-fire pace. I told Jason that sounded a little ambitious or pretty much impossible, but he thinks I've got my mom's smarts, so I guess we'll see.

"Here," Athena handed me bus tickets, some cash, and a map of Albany with an area on the outskirts of the city circled. She pointed at the spot on the map, "You'll find the key here."

"What's the key?"

"You'll know it when you see it," she said as she stood up from the sofa. "I must be on my way, but remember, I'll be keeping an eye on you."

I stood and bowed my head to her, "Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, and Chase, watch your back. There are those who don't wish for your success like I do. There are those who would try to influence you or destroy you. Don't let them."

Destroy me? That's just _great_. "Who are they?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just know they'll be coming for you, so prepare yourself. That's all I can tell you, and now I must go." She put her hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes that I inherited from her, "Good luck, my grandchild." Before I could even say thank you, she disappeared.

Athena had me freaked out with those vague warnings, so I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock at the door. "Room service," said the voice behind the door.

I opened the door for the dark-skinned, gray-haired southern gentleman, and he wheeled a huge cart brimming with food into the suite. "Feeding an army?" he joked.

I smiled and handed him a tip from the cash Athena had given me, "Something like that."

He smiled and nodded, "Enjoy your meal and have a good night, young sir."

"You, too," I said as I closed the door behind him.

"I smell food," Noah said as he walked out of the guest room with a towel draped over his shoulders.

"There's plenty here," I told him. "Dig in."

I picked up my pack and began to walk toward the guest bedroom when Noah asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Later," I said. "First, I need a shower."

"Alright dude, but I can't promise there'll be anything left when you get out."

"There'd better be. Lexie will kick your butt if you eat it all."

Noah grinned, "You're right about that."

The guest bath was as big as the master bath, and it had a both Jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower. I looked at the tub. Lexie had the right idea. A long soak in a hot bath would be really nice, but my growling stomach talked me out of it, so I settled for a quick shower.

As I toweled off, I noticed a pair of sweats and a tank, like Noah had on, lying on the vanity, clothes courtesy of Athena, no doubt. As I put the clothes on, I heard laughing in the living area. I was still towel-drying my hair when I stepped into the living room to see Noah and Lexie kicked back on the sofas, eating and laughing. Lexie had her hair wrapped in a towel on her head, and she too had found a pair of sweats and a tank. I could smell her from across the room and over the smell of the food. Lavender, she always smelled of lavender, even when she was a little kid.

"Oh, CJ," she smiled when she saw me. "Come here, you've got to try this."

"What is it?" I asked as I sat down on the sofa beside her.

"Pecan pie," she said as she gave me a bite of the sweet dessert. "Good, huh?"

Oh, gods, how have I never come across pecan pie before? It's so good. I nodded to Lexie, "That's amazing. What else is there?"

"Chicken, catfish, veggies, cornbread," Noah said. "Oh, and everything's fried, even the okra."

"That sounds healthy," I joked.

"It's not, but it's delicious," Noah smiled.

I built myself a plate and kicked back on the sofa. I stuffed myself with the home-style meal and talked and laughed with my friends. It was a nice break from the travel and the worries about what we're heading toward. Over the last week, normalcy wasn't a word in my vocabulary, but tonight, resting in a hotel suite and pigging out on fried food and sweet desserts with my friends, I felt normal again, if only for a short while.

"Well, guys," Noah yawned as he stood up from the sofa. "I've had all I can handle. I'm going to hit the hay."

"Good night, Noah," Lexie and I said.

"Good night," he said as he walked into the guest room and shut the door behind him.

"So," Lexie began. "What's the game plan for tomorrow?"

I pointed toward the bus tickets and map sitting on the coffee table, "We go to Albany. Our bus leaves at eight in the morning."

Lexie examined the map and pointed at the circled area, "Is this where the Oracle is?"

"Athena said I'd find the key there."

"_The garden of heroes holds the key to finding the one who can truly see._"

"I guess we'll be looking for a garden," I said. I thought about telling Lexie what Athena had said about those that would be coming for me, but I didn't. I don't know why, I mean I trust her, but I didn't tell her.

"Is something wrong, CJ?" she asked me. I guess she could tell I had a lot on my mind.

"I'm just tired, that's all."

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired myself. Do you want to take the master bedroom?"

"No, you go ahead," I told her.

She stood up and walked toward the bedroom, then turned to me and said, "Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

I nodded, then asked, "Hey, Lexie, will you wake me up in the morning?"

She smiled, "Sure. Good night, CJ."

"Sweet dreams, Lexie."


	11. Chapter 11

11. Gardner's Gardens

It was almost eight in the morning when we boarded a Greyhound bus and took our seats near the middle. Noah sat by the window, I took the aisle seat, and Lexie sat between us. I'm not a fan of busses, especially in summer. They're hot and smelly and often crowded; this bus was no exception. This four hour ride wasn't going to be fun, but I did think to grab a few pens and some hotel stationary before we left. That would give us something to do on the long trip. As I doodled on the stationary, I thought about my dream of the Oracle, which I had again last night. The dream was so intense that it was like I was really there. We were running out of time, and I knew if we didn't find her soon, we'd be too late.

I had run out of stationary and was trying to relax in my seat when a reflection of light began shining in my eyes. I figured it was just the sunlight reflecting off of someone's watch annoyingly shining in my face, but when I saw where the light was coming from, I was surprised, and slightly concerned. About eight or so rows up from us, a passenger in the aisle seat on the opposite side of the bus was holding a mirror. It wasn't like a makeup mirror a woman would carry, either. It was a square mirror about the size of a smartphone. From my angle, I could see the back of person holding the mirror. It was a guy with messy, blonde hair. As I looked closer, I could make out his reflection in the mirror, and I realized it was the same teenage guy from the train, the guy I teased Lexie about being her stalker, and his traveling companion was sitting next to him. I'd brushed off their presence before when we were on the train, but this can't be coincidental, especially now. I hadn't seen them since Raleigh, and for them to be on our bus heading to Albany, that's way too suspicious.

Lexie gently nudged me with her elbow, "You've spotted them, haven't you?"

"You knew they were on the bus?" I asked with surprise. If she saw them, why hadn't she said anything?

"Yeah, I saw them at the bus station. They were trying to go unnoticed, but I saw them."

"Well, I guess they are following us."

She smirked, "I told you so."

I rolled my eyes, "You just love proving me wrong, don't you?"

"You make it too easy."

Noah turned to us, "What are you two going on about now?"

"Those two kids that followed us from New York to Raleigh are back," Lexie told him. "They're here on the bus a few rows up."

"You're sure they're following us?" Noah asked with a doubtful look.

"Pretty sure," I nodded. "They're watching us. He's got a mirror, and he's been watching us this whole time."

"Why, though? What's it about us that's so fascinating that they'd follow us halfway across the country?"

"Noah," Lexie said. "We're a demigod, demititan, and cursed legacy, what's _not_ fascinating about us?"

"Touché."

The bus began to slow as we neared the station in Albany, and Noah turned to Lexie and me, "What should we do? We have to get off the bus. Should we confront them or try to lose them?"

"We don't have time for a confrontation right now," I said. I knew I was running out of time to find the girl from my dream. We'd have to worry about these kids that are following us later. "We've got to find the Oracle before she's killed by the Python."

"CJ's right," Lexie agreed. "I say we try to lose them, then find this garden of heroes or whatever it is."

When the bus stopped and the door opened, passengers started filing out. We stayed in our seats until the bus was nearly empty, then made our way to the emergency exit at the back of the bus. We hopped out the back door and snuck around the side of the bus so we wouldn't be seen. We crossed the street and took cover behind the Post Office building that sat directly across the street from the bus station.

"Did they see us?" Noah asked.

I peaked my head around the building, "I don't see them."

"We'd better get moving before they realize we gave them the slip," Lexie said. "No doubt they'll try to track us."

I pulled the map Athena had given me from my pack and examined it closely. We were already in the area that Athena had circled, so all we had to do is find the key, which the line of the quest said would be in a garden of heroes. We took side streets and back allies as we made our way through the outskirts of Albany, but it wasn't long before our stalkers tracked us down.

"What now?" I asked when we noticed the pair closing in on us.

"We run," Lexie said, then took off running, and Noah and I followed her.

I looked over my shoulder as I ran to see the two teens chasing after us.

"Who are these guys?" Noah asked.

"I don't know," I panted. "But they're pretty determined."

We zigzagged around structures and ran in circles trying to lose them, but they were able to stay on our trail. I pulled my pen from my pocket preparing for a confrontation, but as we rounded the corner of a building I heard Lexie say, "There." She pointed toward a plant nursery with greenhouses across the street. "Let's take cover in there."

As we ran into the several acre nursery facility, I noticed the sign out front read: GARDNER'S GARDENS. We ran through several greenhouses and rows of potted saplings and young trees, then inside the main building of the facility. The building itself was a fairly open structure, more like a pavilion than anything. There were potted plants, fountains, and stonework set up in decorative arrangements throughout the building. It was like a gallery of what the nursery had to offer. The place was eerily quiet and no one was around, but when a squawking bird flew past, I hit the button on my pen on instinct, and it grew into my sword.

Lexie looked at me, "Startled much?"

We walked through the building and saw a counter with a cash resister and what looked like an office near the back. We walked toward the office, but stopped in our tracks when we heard a voice behind us, "Can I help you, kids?"

We turned around to see a woman holding a toddler on her hip. She was a middle-aged woman, probably around my parent's age. She had her brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and had dirt on the knees of her faded blue jeans and mud on her calf-high muck boots. She looked straight at me and raised her eyebrows, "You'd better sheathe that weapon, young man."

"Sore," the little boy on her hip tried to say _sword_ and pointed at me.

I was surprised, "You can see that this is a sword?"

"Siny sore," the toddler continued to point at my sword.

The woman adjusted the boy on her hip and said to him, "Yes, honey, it's a shiny sword."

I pressed the button on my sword, and it shrank back into pen-form. "You're a demigod," I guessed.

"That's right," she nodded. "And you look just like Percy Jackson. I'm guessing he's your father?"

"You know my dad?"

"And your mom. We all went to camp together when we were kids," she explained. "You're Chase, right?"

I nodded, "That's right."

"So, I take it you all are campers on a quest?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lexie nodded.

"Katie," the woman smiled. "Call me Katie. Now, I know who Chase is, but you two?"

Noah introduced himself first, "Noah Hawkins."

"Lexie Grace."

"Grace?" Katie said with a bit of surprise. "Jason's or Thalia's?"

Lexie smiled, "Thalia's"

A phone rang in the office, and Katie said, "Oh, sorry kids, I have to get that. It'll only take a second, and I'll be right back. Lexie, honey, do you mind?" Katie handed the little boy to Lexie, and she seemed surprised by the sudden passing of the child to her, but she held the toddler on her hip. What choice did she have?

"I'll be quick," Katie said, then jogged to the office to catch the phone before it stopped ringing.

Lexie made faces at the little boy to keep him entertained. He giggled at her and proceeded to put her hair in his mouth. I smirked, "Look at you, Lexie; you're a natural. You and Russ should have five just like him."

She gave me the evil-eye, "Shut-up, CJ."

"Sut-up, see day," the kid repeated…kinda.

While we waited for Katie to finish her phone call, we looked around the building. The flowers and trees were beautiful and healthy, and the air smelled of dirt and blooming roses without a hint of fertilizer. I figured this woman was a daughter of Demeter. As a matter of fact, I think I remember Mom and Dad mentioning a daughter of Demeter named Katie in their stories about camp.

"Hey, guys, come check this out," Noah said from a few rows of plants over.

Lexie and I walked over to him and laughed at what he was pointing at. It was a collection of about a dozen garden gnomes, but they weren't like traditional gnomes, they were little Greek warrior gnomes. Instead of blue shirts with a belt and tall brown boots, they were sculpted with full-on classical Greek battle armor, and where the red pointy hat would be, was a war helm with a red horsehair plume.

"They're little garden gnome heroes," Lexie laughed.

Garden gnome heroes…garden of heroes, this was the place. "Guys," I said. "I think this is where we'll find the key."

Noah nodded, "I think you're right."

I was still looking at the ugly little gnomes, when I felt something tighten around my ankle. I looked down at what I thought was a snake coiling around my jeans at my left ankle. I jumped back and kicked my foot to try to rid myself of the creature, but instead, I tripped all over myself trying to get away and fell to the concrete floor.

"What in the name of the gods?" Lexie gaped at me. I'm sure I looked ridiculous.

In a mild panic, I reached down to get the snake off me and noticed it wasn't a snake, it was a vine, and it was continuing to wrap around my ankle, making it's way up my leg. "What the- " I tried to free myself from the attacking plant, but it just wrapped around my hands, too.

I heard the little boy rolling with laughter, and every time he would clap his hands with excitement, the vine would get tighter around my leg and wrist. "It's the kid," I said. "He's doing this."

Noah busted out laughing, "You just got taken down by a two year old."

"It's not funny, Noah," I scowled.

"It's pretty funny," I heard Katie say as she walked up to us. She took the boy from Lexie and said to him, "Miles, you can let Chase go, now."

"Aww," the boy pouted, but released me anyway, and I scraped myself up off the floor.

"You have powers," Lexie cooed at the little devil.

"Yep," Katie nodded. "Actually, two of the three do."

"Three?" Noah asked.

"My three kids. I have an older daughter and son, too. Morgan's fifteen, Marcus is nine, and Miles here just turned two. My two boys have powers, but my daughter's the lucky one. She was born mortal."

I heard what sounded like a clay pot break on the pavement just outside the building, and I remembered the two teens that were following us. I pulled my pen from my pocket and looked in the direction of the noise. Lexie and Noah must've heard it, too because Lexie had drawn her bow, and Noah had his hand on the grip of his sword.

"What's going on, guys?" Katie asked with concern.

"We're being followed," I told her.

"Who's following you?"

"We're not sure, but we don't have time to deal with them. We have to complete our quest before it's too late."

"Follow me," Katie said. "My SUV's parked right outside. I'll take you kids someplace safe where you can rest and regroup."

"Where will you take us?" Noah asked.

"To my home."

We climbed in the SUV, and when Miles was secured in his car seat, we left the nursery. Katie drove us about ten miles to a rural area just outside of Albany. She turned down a winding red clay road that ended in a circle drive in front of a two-story house. We followed Katie into her home, which had a log cabin type design on the inside that was both rustic and stylish.

"I'm going to put Miles down for a nap," Katie said. "Make yourselves at home. Oh, and excuse the mess; three kids, you know…four if you count my husband."

We walked into the living room, which contrary to what Katie said, wasn't too messy. There were some building blocks in the floor and a couple of soda cans and video games sitting on the coffee table, but that was it. The room was large, and the vaulted ceiling made it feel even bigger. The huge flint-stone fireplace immediately caught my eye. It was a robust and handsome piece of stonework, and the solid wood mantle really made it pop. I noticed something familiar sitting on the mantle, so I walked over to take a better look. It was a framed photo and on the right and left corners of the frame hung bead necklaces. The exact same photo and necklaces sit on the mantle at my house. The photo is of about fifteen kids, my parents included, taken at Camp Half-Blood after the Titan War. My parents have told me many times who's in the picture, though I can't remember all their names now. I recognized Mom and Dad, Uncle Nico, Aunt Rachel, Lexie's mom, and Grover, but that was it.

Lexie walked over to me, "What are you looking at?"

I pointed to the photo, "Recognize that?"

She looked at the picture and smiled, "My mom has that same photo."

"My parents do, too."

I glanced around the living room and did a double-take when I saw a large, framed family portrait hanging on the wall. In the photo was Katie holding Miles, a skinny, curly-haired man, presumably her husband, and her other two children. I stared at the photo wide-eyed and in utter shock.

"What is it, CJ?" Noah asked when he saw the look on my face.

"That girl," I pointed at the portrait. "That's the girl in my dream. Katie's daughter…she's who we're looking for."


	12. Chapter 12

12. I. Hate. Snakes.

Katie walked into the living room as Noah, Lexie, and I were staring at the family portrait. My brain was running in circles. How was I supposed to tell Katie that her daughter, the one who was lucky enough to be born mortal, was supposed to come to camp with us to become our Oracle? How was I going to tell her that her daughter was going to be attacked by a monster? And where was her daughter right now, anyway?

"What is it?" Katie asked when she saw the concerned looks upon our faces.

"Katie," I said as I pointed toward the portrait. "Is your daughter here?"

She shook her head, "No, she's at a birthday party. I dropped her off just before I met you three at the nursery."

"Is the party at a park?" I asked. I hoped the answer would be no, but I got the feeling the events that occurred in my dreams were already set in motion.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's at Baldwin Park. How'd you know that?"

"I saw it in a dream. She's in danger. We need to get to her as fast as we can."

Katie flushed, "Danger? What kind of danger?"

"She's going to be attacked by a monster."

She shook her head, "No, that can't be right. Morgan's mortal; monsters can't find her. Her scent isn't strong enough."

"This particular monster can sense her," Lexie told her.

"How?"

"Morgan's special," I said. "Does she have vivid dreams, premonitions, and a certain degree of foresight?"

Katie didn't say a word; she just stared at me. I think she was trying to figure out if I was really here to help of if I was some crazed stalker. She narrowed her eyes at me, "You think she's destined to be the Oracle, don't you?"

"I know she is," I nodded. "Apollo himself sent us on this quest to find her."

Lexie stared intently at Katie, "You know it's the truth. I can read it in your eyes." Now, that's a creepy power Lexie has, the truth-seeing power. It makes me think twice about what I say to her.

"I had my suspicions," Katie admitted. "I'd just hoped…"

"Hoped it wasn't true?" I asked.

She nodded, "I hoped she would live a normal life; that she wouldn't have to live the kind of life her father and I did."

I gave her a sympathetic smile, "My dad said something like that to me before I left for camp. But you know, it's like my parents always told me, camp life's not all bad. It can be dangerous and it can be tragic, but it can also be fun and meaningful. You just said your husband is a demigod, so I assume you met him at camp, like my parents met each other there. You guys survived and turned out just fine…and so will she."

Katie grinned at me and shook her head, "You're definitely your father's son."

"Don't let my mom hear you say that," I laughed.

"She'd be so jealous, wouldn't she? But I see a lot of her in you, too," she said, then took a deep breath. "I'll get Miles up, then I'll take you to Morgan."

Noah, Lexie, and I walked out to the car while Katie was getting her little boy up from his nap. Lexie leaned her back against the car and smiled at me, "You did good in there."

I shrugged, "I just hope I wasn't lying to her."

"You believed what you said, and I know you'll do everything you can to ensure her daughter's safety. Oracles don't typically go on quests or are exposed to the dangers we are, so I think she'll be fine, too."

"That's if the spirit of the Oracle doesn't go all psycho-killer on her."

"Yeah," Lexie sighed. "That could be a deal-breaker."

I heard the front door slam shut and the wailing of a child. I guess Miles wasn't too happy about being awakened from his nap. The kid's screams and cries were mind-numbing and did nothing but get louder as Katie strapped him in his car seat.

"Is he okay?" Noah yelled over the screams as we climbed into the car.

"He's just fussy," Katie said. "He'll settle down once we get moving." Gods, I hoped so and before my ears start bleeding, please.

Katie was right. Once we'd reached the end of the gravel road and pulled out onto the highway, Miles had calmed down. I, on the other hand, was anything but calm when Katie punched the accelerator and drove her SUV ninety miles an hour down the highway. I was just glad traffic wasn't bad, because that could've been hectic. When we pulled into the park, I immediately recognized it from my dreams and knew exactly where I needed to go.

Miles started wailing again, and Katie turned to us, "Go! You three go! Save Morgan!"

Noah, Lexie, and I climbed out of the vehicle, and I turned to them, "Follow me."

When we reached the area of the park where I knew Morgan would be, I was worried we might be too late, because she wasn't sitting at the picnic table. The kids at the party had the all too familiar what-the-hell looks on their faces and were chatting and pointing toward the tree line across the park. I looked in the direction they were pointing and saw a petit girl with curly, brown hair staring down an enormous snake. We drew our weapons and took off running toward Morgan and the monster.

Now, when I say enormous snake, I don't mean anaconda, I mean baby drakon. The thing was huge, nearly fifty feet long and probably weighed close to two tons. It had brown and yellow markings and looked like a normal python, just a lot bigger. Shrink it down to normal snake size, and it could've been someone's pet…not mine, of course.

When we ran up behind Morgan, it was like she knew we were coming. She never turned to us; she kept her eyes on the snake, but she thrust her arms out to her sides and yelled, "Stop!"

She was yelling at us, not at the snake, which I couldn't understand, so I didn't obey her order. I ran in front of her, putting myself between her and the Python. The snake reacted by rearing its head up and hissing so loudly that it almost sounded like a roar. My first impulse was to take off running and screaming like a little girl. I hate snakes, anyway, but one that wanted to eat me was even worse. Just the sight of the beady-eyed, slimy, slithering creature made me shudder, and the thought of me in its mouth made me cringe.

I had my sword pointed at the snake and used my left hand to push Morgan back, "Get back! It's going to attack!"

About the time I said that, the Python lunged, just like it had done in my dream. I grabbed Morgan and dove away from the strike. We rolled when we hit the ground, and when we came to a stop, she kicked me in my leg.

"What do ya think you're doin'?" she scolded.

"Saving your life. Where's the gratitude?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, "You want gratitude?" She kicked me again. What the hell was this girl's problem?

"Lookout!" I heard Lexie yell.

I looked up to see the Python's enormous open mouth coming straight down at me. I raised my sword just in time and stabbed the snake in the soft scales of its underside. The Python reared its head up, taking me and my sword with it.

When the snake snapped its head back, my sword broke free from the scales, and I went flying into the air. I landed on the snakes back near its head. I held on tight with one hand and drove my sword hilt deep into the Python with the other. When my sword impaled the snake, I heard Morgan scream in horror. The snake began to squirm wildly, and I held onto the grip of my sword, riding the disgusting creature like it was a bucking bronco. The snake whipped around so violently that my sword finally worked itself out of the monsters body, and I again went flying into the air, but this time I landed on the ground…hard. I didn't even have time to get to my feet before the snake came after me again. This time, when it struck at me, I rolled away and slashed my blade along its side, and green slime oozed from the open wound. I was about to yell at Lexie and Noah for help when I noticed Lexie was already firing arrows at the monster, and Noah had run over to the other side of the snake and was slashing his katana into it's scales.

"No! Stop!" Morgan cried. "Please, stop!"

I looked over at Katie's daughter who had tears streaming down her face. I couldn't understand why she was so upset. Did she want the snake to eat her? Did she have a death wish?

"Please, please, don't hurt him," she pleaded.

As I ducked, jumped, and rolled to avoid the monster's attacks, I wracked my brain trying to figure out why this girl wouldn't want us to hurt the Python, then I remembered what Lexie told me on the train:_ Pythons are cursed to be protectors of Oracles, not enemies_. That's got to be it. I had it all wrong. The snake wasn't trying to attack her in my dreams, it was trying to protect her…protect her from me. The Python _was_ here for her, just not in the way I thought. It wasn't here to kill her; it was here to take its place as her guardian.

"Fall back!" I yelled. "Cease fire, Lexie!"

"What?" she yelled at me.

"Just do it! Trust me!"

Lexie stopped firing arrows at the snake, and she and Noah retreated to a safe distance while I ran over to Morgan who still had tears welling in her green eyes. The Python was regaining its composure from the assault, and its oozing wounds were already beginning to heal.

"Morgan, Morgan," I said, trying to get the girls attention, but she couldn't take her eyes off the snake. I grabbed her shoulders, "Morgan." She blinked, then stared into my eyes. "I'm-" I started, but she shut me up by slapping me across the face. Why did this chick keep hitting me?

"You could've killed him," she cried.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I thought it was going to attack you."

"Why would he attack me? He's my protector."

"I realize that…now."

She looked past me, then grabbed my arm, pulling me behind her. The Python had slithered up to us and was staring us down with its beady eyes. She and the snake stared at one another like they were silently communicating. After a moment of staring, the Python lowered its head and rested it flat on the ground. Morgan gestured for me to stay put while she approached the Python. She reached out with her tiny hand and placed it on the scales between the snake's nostrils. I gripped my sword tightly just incase I'd have to use it, but the Python didn't attack; it just lay there and closed its eyes while Morgan rubbed her hand across its face.

"He ain't gonna to hurt me," she said softly with that thick southern drawl, and I wasn't sure if she was talking to me or the snake. "You just scared him, is all."

The snake peaked an eye open, and I swear, it was glaring at me. I took a step back for good measure.

"You a half-blood?" she asked me.

"A legacy," I said.

"Me, too."

"I know. I met your mom. She's the one who brought us here."

She continued to rub the snakes face, "You didn't freak her out too bad, did ya?"

"She was worried," I said. "I told her you were in danger, because I thought you were."

She smirked, "Dreams ain't always crystal clear, huh?"

"How'd you know about the dreams?"

She turned to me, "'Cause I saw _you_ in a dream. I knew you were comin', but I didn't know you were gonna attack the Python. I just figured you were gonna take me to Camp Half-Blood to be the Oracle."

"So, you know?"

"Yeah," she nodded, then patted the snake a couple of times. The Python hissed, then it turned and slithered away, disappearing into the tree line.

Lexie, Noah, and Katie holding Miles came jogging up to us. "Morgan, honey, are you alright?" Katie asked her daughter as she wrapped her free arm around her.

"I'm fine, Mom."

"What the heck just happened?"

Morgan looked up at her mother, "It's a long story."

Katie ran her hand over her daughter's curly hair, "You know how I like stories. How about we pick up a few pizzas, and you kids can tell your story during supper."

Morgan nodded, "Okay."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Okay guys, you can call me a sell-out if you'd like, because this chapter is the epitome of pandering to the base.**

13. Noah's Heart Is Stollen

During the drive back to Katie's house, I learned something interesting about Noah. He's _not_ a ladies man, the poor guy. I could tell immediately that he had crush on Morgan by the way he was blushing and how he kept cutting his eyes at her. And when he attempted to introduce himself, well, it embarrassed even me. It came out as total word vomit, and I'm not even sure she caught his first name in that jumbled mess of words that came out of his mouth. It kind of surprised me that he had trouble talking to girls. He seemed so composed around everyone at camp, but get him near a girl he's attracted to and he turned into a babbling idiot, go figure.

When we got to the house, Katie sent Noah and me into the living room with the pizzas and with Miles while she, Morgan, and Lexie gathered plates and drinks. I sat Miles on the floor with his building blocks where he entertained himself, and Noah sat the pizzas on the coffee table.

"So, um…what do you think of Morgan?" Noah asked me.

"Contrary comes to mind."

He looked hurt, "How can you say that? She's sweet and friendly and interesting and beautiful…"

I raised an eyebrow, "And she didn't hit you three times, either. And how can you already be waxing poetic about her? You just met her."

"You think I like her," he guessed. "I mean, _like her_, like her."

"It's pretty obvious, Noah."

"It is?"

"Yeah," I nodded.

The girls joined us in the living room, and we all got ourselves a plate of pizza and a glass of sweet tea. We sat in the living room while we ate and told Katie what happened at the park.

"So, Morgan, you've seen this Python before?" her mother asked.

"Only in dreams," she answered. "Today was the first time I've seen him in the flesh."

"How long have you known that you're supposed to go to camp to be the Oracle?"

Morgan shrugged, "I don't know…a couple years, I guess."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Katie asked.

"'Cause you and Dad are always goin' on about how lucky I am to be mortal and how dangerous bein' a camper is and how at least one of your kids is normal. I knew it'd just break your heart."

"Oh, sweetie," her mother sighed.

I heard the front door slam and a man's voice call out, "Morgan! Morgan!"

"In here, Daddy," she said as she stood up from the sofa and met her father as he came into the living room.

"Morgan," he said with relief as he wrapped his arms around his daughter. "I was so worried."

"I'm okay," she reassured him.

He took her cheeks in his hands, "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

She sighed, "Yeah, well, that's an impossibility, now."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, then scanned the living room to see us all sitting around eating pizza. "Are these the demigods that are stirring up trouble?"

"Calm down, Travis," Katie said to her husband. "They were sent here on a quest. They're here to help."

Morgan's father walked straight up to me. He had a pretty bad attempt at a scowl on his face. He had sharp, elfish looking features that weren't really conducive to scowling. "You Percy Jackson's boy?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," I nodded.

"Are you here to take my daughter to Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yes, sir."

His scowl turned into a smirk, which he wore well, "Well, I guess there's worse campers to trust. If you're anything like your parents, I figure Morgan's in good hands." He held out his hand and introduced himself, "Travis Stoll."

Stoll…I think I know that name. I wiped the pepperoni grease off my hand onto my jeans before shaking his hand, "CJ."

"Wait a second," Noah said. "You're Travis Stoll? _The Travis Stoll?_ Of the famous Stoll Brothers from cabin eleven?" That's where I knew that name from.

Travis grinned and turned to his daughter, "See, I told you I'm legendary."

Morgan rolled her eyes, "You and Uncle Connor are notorious, not legendary."

Travis turned back to Noah, "I can tell you're not a son of Hermes, but do you stay in cabin eleven?"

Noah nodded, "Yes, sir. I don't have a cabin of my own."

"Well, in that case, you're always welcome in the Hermes cabin. Have my brothers and sisters been treating you right?"

"Yes, sir, they're very nice, not terribly trustworthy, but nice." I'd noticed that the Hermes kids were just about the only campers who didn't treat Noah like an outsider.

"Who's your godly parent, Noah?" Katie asked.

He hesitated, "…Prometheus."

Silence.

"Well…um…" Travis stammered. "I saw Prometheus once…from a distance…a long time ago. CJ, your dad met him. He and Thalia actually talked to him."

"I remember my mom telling me Prometheus came to them under a flag of truce during the Titan War," Lexie added.

Travis turned to Lexie, "And who's your mom?"

"Thalia. I'm Lexie, Lexie Grace."

He looked a little shocked, "You're kidding me, right?"

Lexie shook her head.

Travis looked at her closer, "Well, I'll be damned. Out of all the demigods I've known, Thalia would be the last I ever expected to have a kid."

"Travis!" Katie scoffed.

"What?" he shrugged. "She was a Hunter of Artemis."

"Be nice," Katie demanded of her husband.

Lexie smiled, "It's okay. I wasn't exactly planned, anyway. Dad says I was their _happy accident_."

Too much information…though, it does explain a lot. Thalia's a great mom, I do remember that from when they lived in New York, but she was such a hardcore monster slayer that motherhood just seemed a little odd for her.

Travis ran his hand over Morgan's hair and grinned, "We know all about happy accidents. We have one of those of our own."

"Daddy!" Morgan gasped and elbowed her father in the gut.

We finished eating our pizza and sat around the living room just talking for hours. Katie and Travis told us stories of the old days back at camp, stories that I'd never heard from my parents. Morgan told us about herself. She'd be a sophomore at her high school next year, and she played softball, which perked my interest; if she could play ball, then maybe she wasn't so bad. I liked listening to her talk, too. Unlike her parents, who aren't originally from Georgia, she had a thick country accent; she beautifully butchered the English language.

Lexie, Noah, and I told them about my quest and our trip down here to find Morgan. We also told them about the two teens that followed us from New York. When I mentioned them, Morgan seemed to tense, and she suddenly got really quiet. I got the feeling maybe she had an idea who they were. She did mention she has a lot of dreams of a lot of things that don't really make sense out of context, and I wondered if maybe I just explained one of her dreams.

"It's getting late, guys," Katie said. "It's time for showers and bed."

"Can't we stay up a little longer?" Morgan complained.

"If you stay up any later, I won't be able to get your butt out of bed in the morning, and you four have a bus to catch at ten." Katie had called the bus station and booked us on the 10 a.m. bus to Atlanta where we'd get back on the Amtrak.

"Oh, alright."

"Lexie, honey," Katie said. "You can sleep in Marcus' room. He's at his uncle Connor's tonight. And CJ, you and Noah can sleep on the sofas. I'll get you boys some pillows and blankets."

After a hot shower, I got settled on one of the sofas in the living room. I was pretty tired and was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Now that we'd found Morgan, I assumed the dreams would stop. However, that was not the case.

Morgan and I were sitting in wooden armchairs in what looked like an office. The office had large picture windows allowing me to see out into what appeared to be a large warehouse full of shipping containers. The sign on the wall read: Sparta Trucking Co. I looked around for Noah and Lexie, but they weren't in the office, and I really couldn't see much out in the warehouse because of all the containers.

The doorknob turned on the office door, and a person I'd never seen before walked in. He was tall, well over six feet, with a fairly muscular build. He had short, dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes. His skin was tanned to a crisp, and his tan line where he'd been wearing sunglasses gave him the raccoon eyes. The weird thing, though…the guy was just a kid. He couldn't have been more than a few years older than me, eighteen at oldest.

He sat down behind the desk there in the office and looked intently at me and Morgan. "So," he said. "Are you two ready to join our cause?"

My eyes shot open. The living room was dark, and I looked over at the clock. It was 3:15 a.m. I looked over at the other sofa to see Noah sound asleep. I lied there wide awake thinking about my newest dream. Who was this guy, and what cause was he talking about? If this dream was anything like the others, I could count on finding out soon enough.

I don't remember falling back to sleep, but I woke to the smell of pancakes. I rubbed my eyes and noticed Noah was no longer on the other sofa. If I were to take a guess, I'd say he was probably in the kitchen where the food was. The guy eats like a horse.

I rolled off the couch and stretched before neatly folding the blanket I'd slept on and placing it on one end of the sofa with the pillow. I made my way into the kitchen to find Noah helping Katie cook pancakes, and Miles sitting in his highchair with Lexie feeding him tiny bites of syrup covered pancakes.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," Lexie grinned when she saw me. "You've got the bed-head this morning."

I patted down my unruly hair, "Doesn't surprise me."

Katie looked at me, "Looks like you could use a cup of coffee. There's a full pot over here. Cups are in the cabinet."

Oh, thank the gods. I poured myself a cup, then sat at the breakfast bar while I waited for a stack of pancakes. It wasn't long before Morgan staggered into the kitchen, and well, I only thought my bed-head was bad. Her curly, brown hair looked like a fro, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.

Noah turned from the stove to hand me a plate of pancakes and saw her. He nearly dropped the plate, and if I hadn't been paying attention and caught it, it likely would've hit the floor.

"G-good morning," he said to her.

"Coffee," she yawned.

"Oh, I-I'll get it for you," Noah said, then rifled through the cabinet for a cup.

Morgan sat down at the breakfast bar beside me and glared, "What are you lookin' at?"

I held up my hands in surrender, "Nothing."

She picked up a fork and took a bite of pancakes off my plate. "Hey," I said. "Get your own."

Noah sat a cup of coffee in front of Morgan, and she smiled, "Thanks, Noah."

"You're-you're welcome."

"Noah, will you get Morgan some pancakes so she'll stop eating mine?"

He laughed, "Sure thing."

We finished our breakfast, cleaned up, and changed clothes while Morgan packed a bag and said goodbye to her dad and baby brother. I empathized with her situation. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I said goodbye to my family.

"Come on, kids," Katie said. "We've got to get you to the bus station."

We all climbed into her SUV, and Travis stood at the front door of the house waving goodbye to us with one hand and holding his son in the other. When we pulled out of the drive, Morgan looked back at her home, and I knew what she was thinking: will I ever be back?

We arrived at the bus station about fifteen minutes before its departure. We got our tickets and waited in line to board. As we waited, Morgan and Katie said their goodbyes.

"I love you, Morgan," Katie said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"I love you too, Mom, and I'll miss y'all."

"We'll miss you, too." Katie wiped a tear from her face, "Stay safe and stay out of trouble."

Morgan grinned, "I'll try."

It was time for us to board when Katie said to us, "Have a safe trip to camp, guys, and IM me when you get there."

"Thanks for everything, Katie," I said.

She looked into my eyes, "Just look after her for me, will you?"

I nodded, "Of course."

"Mom, we've gotta go," Morgan said when she reached the bus door. "I'll see ya in a couple months."

"Bye, sweetie."

"Bye, Mom."

We took our seats toward the rear of the bus; Noah and I were seated on the right side of the bus and Lexie and Morgan were across the aisle from us. In only a few short minutes, we were on the road to Atlanta. The bus was fairly crowded, but not packed like the other one. I scanned the passengers as best I could. I didn't want us to run into a situation like we had on our last bus ride. Everything seemed normal, but just because it seemed that way, didn't mean it was…and it wasn't. We'd been on the road for less than an hour, and I was just beginning to relax when all hell broke loose.


	14. Chapter 14

14. Hijacked

You hear about it on the news: a plane, a train, or a bus full of innocent people was hijacked by some foreign terrorist who wanted to bring an end to America. That was not our situation. My parents once told me they were on a bus that got hijacked by the three Furies, and I longed for the Furies. If it had been a monster, it would've made things so much easier. We could just kill the monster, and it'd be over. Instead, our bus was in the process of being hijacked by people…humans. And not just any humans, they were kids.

Six teenagers wielding firearms stood from their seats, and the passengers went into panic-mode. One of the hijackers went for the bus driver, three took passengers as hostages to keep the crowd controlled, and two came straight for us. I wasn't really surprised to see that the two teens walking down the aisle toward us, guns in hand, were the same two teens that had been on our trail since we'd left Penn Station three days ago.

I didn't know what to do. My celestial bronze sword would be useless against them unless they were demigods or legacies, which they very well could've been; I wasn't sure. And even if I had drawn my sword, it probably would've created an even bigger panic and got somebody killed. I think the same thing was running through Lexie's and Noah's head, because neither of them went for their weapons. We just sat still and quiet as the two hijackers approached us.

The blond guy reached us first. He pointed his pistol directly at Lexie, and my heart stopped cold in my chest. I started to stand up, but he cut his blue eyes at me and said, "Don't or I'll kill her."

I didn't move other than to look into Lexie's eyes. She was staring down the barrel of that gun without a drop of fear. The only thing I saw in her eyes was anger. "What do you want with us?" she asked him.

By that time, the black-haired, green-eyed girl had made it to us, and she had her gun pointed at Noah who was gripping his seat tightly. I'm sure he was terrified. I was terrified for him.

"We want you dead, demigod," the hijacker said.

"Then why don't you just get it over with?" Lexie called his bluff, and once again, I wanted to sew her mouth shut.

"All in good time."

I'd noticed the bus had changed direction. Instead of heading north toward Atlanta, we were now traveling east to gods know where. "Where are you taking us?" I asked him.

"That's not your concern, and you'd be wise not to speak again. I'd hate to have to kill your girlfriend right here in front of you because you couldn't keep your mouth shut."

I wanted to protest that she wasn't my girlfriend, but I took heed to his warning and didn't speak. I got the distinct feeling he _wasn't_ bluffing.

We rode the bus at gunpoint for what seemed like hours without uttering a single word. I kept thinking about the last line from my quest: _pursuers will impede the safe return of heroes and legacies with a blaze to burn. _I also thought about Athena's warning about those who would be coming after me to influence or destroy me. I figured these kids were who she was referring to.

The hijackers started to get anxious when the bus began to slow. I looked out the window to see we were entering a small city. The sign read: Welcome to Sparta, and I immediately thought of my dream. The bus made several turns through town, then came to a stop outside a large warehouse.

"You four, up," the blond guy ordered, and we hesitantly stood.

The two teens led us off the bus at gunpoint, while the other four hijackers stayed onboard. We stepped out onto the curb and were escorted toward the entrance of the warehouse while the bus pulled away.

When we entered the building, I recognized it as the warehouse from my dream. It was filled with rows upon rows of multi-colored shipping containers stacked two high, and on one of the walls was a sign that read: Sparta Trucking Co., just like I saw in my dream.

We walked down an aisle between the stacks of containers until we came to a T. "Take the demigods to the holding cell," the blond guy said to the girl. "I'll take these two to Barka."

"Got it," she nodded, then escorted Lexie and Noah at gunpoint down the aisle to the right, and the guy took me and Morgan down the left aisle. I looked over my shoulder to see Lexie looking over her shoulder back at me. I had to do something to save her and Noah. I had to come up with a plan and fast, because there was no doubt in my mind that these guys had full intentions of killing us.

"Move," the guy pushed me in my back causing me to face forward again.

"Why are you separatin' us?" Morgan asked him.

"You two aren't demigods. Your lives will be spared." Well, that was good news, but Lexie's and Noah's lives were still in danger.

I looked closely at the guy who was escorting us, because I still couldn't shake the feeling that I knew him from somewhere. Like Lexie said, he looked really familiar. "Do I know you?" I asked.

He shook his head, "No."

"Are you sure? Are you from Manhattan, maybe?"

"Los Angeles. I just have one of those faces, so drop it." This guy was a little touchy.

"What do ya want with us?" Morgan asked the question I was thinking.

"Barka will explain."

"Who's Barka?"

"Our leader," he said.

"So what are you guys?" I asked. "Some kinda cult?"

"No." Our kidnapper was just full of information.

He took us into an office, the same office from my dream and sat us down in wooden chairs. "Barka will be with you shortly. I'll be right outside, so don't even think about trying to escape."

The guy stepped out of the office leaving Morgan and I in there alone. "This ain't good," she said. "I've seen this place before."

"So have I," I nodded. "I saw it in a dream just last night."

"We gotta to get outta here, CJ," she said with urgency in her voice. "We can't get trapped in here."

"What is it, Morgan?" I asked. She must've seen something in a dream or vision that I hadn't. "What's going to happen?"

Before she could answer my question the doorknob turned and a six foot tall, tan-skinned teenager walked in with the blond guy and the girl that had taken Noah and Lexie away right behind him. I recognized the new face as the same raccoon-eyed guy I saw in my dream.

He took a seat at the office desk and introduced himself, "I'm Collin Barka. This is Mason," he pointed at the girl, then he pointed at the blond guy, "And this is Finn. And you're Chase and Morgan, am I right?"

How the hell did he know us? "How'd you know that?" I asked.

"We know many things. Our intel is quite reliable and accurate."

"Are y'all military?" Morgan asked.

Barka looked like he was thinking on that. "Of sorts. We call ourselves the Rebellion. We're a militia comprised of clear-sighted mortals and legacies going back as far as four generations."

"A militia? What's your mission?" I asked. I couldn't imagine what the answer might be.

An evil smile came across Barka's face, "Our mission is to kill every demigod on the planet."

I blinked…twice.

Morgan shook her head in disbelief, "Ya wanna what, now?"

She read my mind. This had to be some kind of joke. Why would a group of mortals and legacies want to kill demigods? It didn't make sense.

"You two, of all people, should understand our mission."

"Well, I don't," I snapped. "So, please, explain it to me."

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be normal? What your life would be like if you didn't have clear sight? How different would you be if you couldn't see the horrors that the Mist doesn't hide from you? How happy would you be if you weren't living everyday in a sci-fi horror film? I dreamed of a time when I wouldn't have to live in fear, a time when I would be free of the sight, and now, that time is fast approaching."

I was completely confused with this guy's ramblings. "But what does killing demigods have to do with it?"

"Killing demigods is the answer. Once we rid the world of demigods, monsters will disappear; they'll have no reason to plague the world anymore. And once demigods and monsters are gone, the gods will fade from thought. The collective consciousness that is Western civilization doesn't burn as brightly these days, even you know that. Eventually, the gods too will disappear, and those of us with clear sight will finally be free from our living nightmare."

It took a second, but I finally wrapped my mind around what he was saying. "Let me get this straight. You're planning to erase the entire Greek and Roman worlds just because you can see the things that go bump-in-the-night? And you plan on doing it by exterminating demigods?"

Barka nodded, "Isn't that what I just said?"

Oh, these guys were psycho. "This is crazy. Some of you are legacies. You're talking about killing your own family. You're talking about parricide. You _do_ realize that?"

He shrugged, "We have to do what we have to do. This is the only way. We'll never live normal lives until all the horrible things we see are gone."

Mason spoke up, "Understand, Chase, not all clear-sighted mortals and legacies have been as lucky as you. We come from broken homes and broken families with broken dreams. Most legacies in our organization are orphans who watched their demigod or legacy parent be slain by a monster. Others, like myself, are runaways from a disturbed and traumatized parent who never explained what it was we were seeing. Most of our clear-sighted mortals were on the brink of being incarcerated or committed when we recruited them. We never had the opportunities to acquire the tools and skills to cope with the mystical world like you did. We've been forgotten, left behind by this strange world we live in, and because we have nowhere else to turn, we turn to one another. We've given these kids a home, a family, and a purpose, but most of all, we've given them hope that someday they'll have a normal life."

Now, she was a smooth talker. She almost had me convinced, and she definitely had my sympathy.

Morgan, however, had no sympathy. She rolled her eyes, "Resentful much?"

"This isn't about resentment; it's about survival," Mason said. "Morgan, think about your brothers. The likelihood of them having a normal life right now is slim to none. The likelihood of them being killed by a monster is far greater. Their scent isn't strong, not yet, and if we can complete out mission, your brothers won't have to worry about monsters coming after them, and you won't ever have to think about the possibility of them being killed by one."

A tear rolled down Morgan's cheek, "You crossed a line. Don't ever mention my brothers to me again, ya got it?"

"I'm sorry," Mason apologized. "I meant no disrespect. I just want to put things into perspective. We can change the fate of so many by sacrificing the few. This is for the future. This is for the greater good."

The room was silent for a moment, mainly because I was speechless. I mean, really, what do you say to that?

Barka looked at us intently and said, "You two could be great assets to our organization. Join us, join our cause."

Morgan narrowed her eyes at him, "Over my dead body."

Finn smirked, "That can be arranged."

Morgan stood from her seat and pointed at Finn, "Ya touch me, and I guarantee the dead body'll be yours."

Finn approached her, "You think you can take me, little girl?"

She stood right up to Finn, which meant she barely reached his chest, and she shouted, "I'll kick your ass!"

Now I understood why Katie was so intent on me keeping an eye on Morgan. She was a loose cannon. And I thought Lexie was bold.

I jumped out of my seat to break things up between them, but before I could do anything, Finn grabbed her arm. It all happened so fast: he grabbed her, she drew a small dagger that she apparently had concealed at the small of her back, and took a swipe at him across his forearm.

He released her and grabbed his now bleeding arm. The room was silent as Finn backed away from the little girl holding a celestial bronze blade. She wasn't lying; she kicked his ass at his own game, and in the process, revealed Finn as a legacy and affirmed she was, in fact, a badass.

_BOOM_

The silence was broken by a deafening crash at the other end of the warehouse.

_BOOM_

The office shook as there was another loud crash, and I looked out the picture window to see shipping containers flying across the other end of the warehouse.

_KABOOM_

One of the shipping containers burst into flames as it crashed into another.

Morgan turned to me, "He's here. We gotta go."

"Who's here?" I asked her.

She didn't answer, she just grabbed my arm, and we all ran out of the office. The members of the Rebellion were just as shocked at what was going on as I was. A fifty foot long Python that was as big around as a car was laying waste to the shipping containers, sending them flying across the warehouse like they were nothing more than Legos.

"He sensed I was in danger," Morgan said to me. "He's come to protect me."


	15. Chapter 15

15. My Fatal Flaw

I never _ever_ thought I'd say this, but I was so glad to see that snake…though, it still gave me the creeps. The Python was demolishing the shipping containers, one right after the other, which was a big enough distraction for me and Morgan to make a break for it. As we zigzagged through the rows of containers, I looked over my shoulder fully expecting our captors to be chasing after us, but they weren't. I guess they had bigger things to worry about now. Their warehouse was being ransacked, and it was on fire to boot; we were no longer their top priority.

The bad thing about it: the fire was burning on the end of the warehouse where Mason had taken Lexie and Noah. The other bad thing: members of the Rebellion were coming out of the woodwork and running around the warehouse in panic. As much as I disagreed with this group's mission, that didn't mean I thought they deserved to burn to death in this building that was currently going up in flames.

_BOOM_

There was another loud crash to our immediate right, and I looked up to see a shipping container flying straight toward us. I pushed Morgan as hard as I could to knock her out of its path, but that left me no time to get out of the way. I turned my back to the forty-foot long, ten-foot tall steel container and braced myself for impact. I took a glancing blow from the container square in my back, and it sent me flying over two rows of containers and landing on top of another row.

"CJ!" Morgan yelled as she ran toward me.

I was winded, but alright, so I got to my feet and looked down at the warehouse floor that was twenty feet down. I jumped. Surprisingly, I landed on my feet and didn't even stumble, which never happens. Oh, yes, I've jumped off really tall structures before, but usually just to show off to my dad, never in a situation like this.

Morgan came running up and went straight to annoying me, "Jeez, CJ, I didn't know you could _fly_."

"Ha, ha, very funny. Hey, here's an idea; why don't you go get that pet snake of yours under control?"

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say, Superman."

She turned and ran toward the Python, and I called after her, "Hey, it's Batman! Mortal hero, remember?"

"Whatever!"

While she went to wrangle her Python, I went to find Lexie and Noah. The smoke was becoming thick, and it seemed everywhere I turned there were flames. I darted through the fires yelling their names, and finally after a few minutes of running around the burning warehouse, I heard them yelling back at me. I ran toward their voices, which were coming from a section of the building that was completely engulfed. I had to run through a lot of fire to make it to them, and I wondered how they were still alive. I got my answer when I reached them.

Lexie and Noah were in a metal cage surrounded by a ring of fire. The fire was burning everything around the cage, but it was like it hit an invisible wall that it couldn't penetrate when it got within about fifteen feet of the holding cell. As I approached the cell, I noticed Noah was standing in the center of it with his arms thrust out to his sides. Sweat was pouring off him, and the veins in his neck and forehead looked like they were about to pop.

"CJ!" Lexie yelled when she saw me. "CJ, your shirt's on fire!"

It sure was. I patted myself to put out the flames. When I turned back to the cell, I realized what was going on, "Holy crap, Noah, are you controlling the fire?"

"Sort of," he grunted.

I looked at Lexie, "He can do that?"

She nodded, "Control, manipulate, wield…just not create. He has to have an outside source of ignition."

"Still…impressive."

"CJ, he can't hold the fire back forever. You gotta get us out of here."

The only thing I knew to do was try to slash through the bars with my sword, so I pulled my pen from my pocket, clicked the button, and it transformed into my sword.

"Don't even bother," Lexie said before I even swung at the bars. "We already tried it. The bars won't break. We need the key. Or maybe you could pick the lock?"

"What do I look like, a son of Hermes?"

"Hermes…Morgan."

"You think she could?" I asked.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

"Morgan!" we all three yelled at the top of our lungs. "Morgan!"

In no time, Morgan came bursting through the smoke and flames on the back of her monster, and it scared the heck out of me; I guess I'll never get over my issue with snakes.

"You rang?" Morgan asked as she slid off its back. The Python disappeared behind a cloud of smoke as Morgan looked at the holding cell, "Whoa! Noah, are you controllin' the fire?"

He grimaced, "For the moment."

She shook her head, "So cool."

"Morgan, do you think you can pick this lock?" I asked. "Noah can't hold on much longer."

She examined the lock on the cage, "I can try. I'll need a paper clip or a bobby pin or somethin' like that."

I dug through my pockets, but I had nothing like that.

Lexie pulled her hairpin out of her messy bun, "Here, will this work?"

Morgan took the slightly curved, thin, metal pin from Lexie, "It might."

"Just please, don't break it. That's my bow."

"Your bow transforms into a hairpin? That's so awesome. Wait, don't your hair get in your face when you shoot, then?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I keep a ponytail holder handy for situations like that."

"Good thinkin'."

"Girls!" Noah gasped. "Can you talk about your hair later? I'm dying over here."

"Right, sorry," Morgan said, then began working on the lock.

She'd been working on it for almost a minute, and Lexie was getting antsy, "Come on, come on."

"I'm tryin'. I ain't very good at this; I had to learn it the old-fashioned way. Marcus is the one with the gift, not me."

"Just concentrate," I told her.

She put her ear up to the lock as she picked it, "Come on, talk to me. Talk to me. Almost there…"

_Click_

"Voila!"

We opened the holding cell's door, and Lexie and Noah exited their prison. Noah kept his arms out to his sides, keeping the fire at bay while we made our way toward the front door of the warehouse. We ran out the door and into the fresh air. Lexie, Noah, and Morgan were coughing from the smoke, but they were alright.

As I looked around outside the warehouse, I noticed the members of the Rebellion were retreating, but Finn and Mason were still standing right outside the door. Finn was holding Mason back as she tried to reenter the burning warehouse.

"Collin's still in there!" she said to Finn.

He tried to reason with her, "You can't go back in there, Abigail. The building could collapse at any minute."

She had tears in her eyes, "We can't just leave him in there. He'll die!"

She was sincerely concerned about their leader; like she'd said earlier, they were a family. Actually, they were a lot like us campers: a group of kids brought together by commonalities and circumstances beyond our control. _Dammit_. I ran back toward the door, and Lexie called after me, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to get him out."

"What!"

"I know, I know, I've lost my mind." I was really beginning to believe I had.

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Be careful."

"I'll be fine. I'm invulnerable, remember?" I turned and ran back inside the burning warehouse.

I ran through the smoke, flames, and burning debris. Invulnerability really is a nice quirk to have when entering a burning building. The flames didn't burn my skin, and the smoke didn't make me cough, though I could tell I wasn't getting much oxygen into my lungs; it was a bit difficult to breathe. I ran back toward the office where I thought Barka might be, and sure enough he was. He was lying on the floor just outside the office with a huge piece of sheet-metal on top of him. I thought I might be too late. I ran over to him and shook his shoulder. He coughed and groaned; he was still alive.

I looked at the huge piece of metal that was once part of a shipping container and wondered how I was going to get it off him. It had him pinned to the floor by his legs, and I was almost scared to move it; no telling what condition his legs were in under there.

The warehouse began to groan as the rafters were beginning to buckle from the heat. I had to get him free before the building collapsed on top of us. I gripped the piece of sheet-metal and tried to lift it. It barely budged; it was heavy. I thought for a minute, trying to decide how to approach it with the most leverage.

I lay down on my back on the floor and squeezed my legs under the piece of metal. I positioned my feet where I could get a good push, then gave it everything I had. Slowly but surely I was able to lift the metal off him. Once I got it at a good angle, I kicked it as hard as I could, and it went flying clear of us.

I got to my knees and turned to Barka. Thankfully, his legs didn't look to be broken, just cut up a little. I rolled him over onto his back, and he came to.

"Can you stand?" I asked.

"I think so," he mumbled, and I helped him to his feet.

I looked around to try to find a path to the door that wasn't blocked by fire, and saw one along the wall. I threw his arm over my shoulder and half-carried him toward the door. The guy was awkward to drag along as he was over a foot taller than me and a lot heavier, but somehow I made it work and got the guy safely out of the burning building.

When we exited the building, I let go of him, and he collapsed to the pavement. I never looked at him, I never looked at anyone; I just walked away and sat down on the curb alone. The reality of what I'd just done hit me and hit me hard. I'd just saved the life of the guy whose sole mission was to kill people like my friends and my parents. What was I thinking?

"Why?" I heard Barka ask my friends. "Why'd he come back for me? What'd he expect?"

"From you, nothing," Lexie said bitterly. "From himself, nothing less."

"This doesn't change anything, Chase," Barka said to me, and I still didn't look at him. "This isn't over. We'll complete our mission."

"But not today, Collin," Mason said to him. "Come on, we should get you to a hospital so you can get checked out."

I never turned to look at them, I only stared at my half-melted sneakers, but I assumed from the silence that Barka, Mason, and Finn left without a fight.

Suddenly and shockingly, Athena appeared on the curb beside me. "You're wondering if you did the right thing," she said.

I tried to justify my actions, "I couldn't just let him die if I could stop it."

"That's noble, but understand, what you've done today set in motion a Great Prophecy, and now it's your responsibility to see it through. If you can't overcome your fatal flaw in the future, we may all be doomed."

"Why me?" I asked. "Why is this all on me?"

"Chase, you were destined to be the child of prophecy because the Fates believe you're strong enough to be. They gave you this kind of life because they feel you're strong enough to live it."

"Do you believe that?

She didn't answer. Her confidence in me was shaken, I could tell.

"Grandmother, my fatal flaw…"

"Compassion," she said. "It's your compassion."

"How is that a bad thing?"

"It's not, child, not when it's focused in the right direction. However, your compassion for your enemy today is an example of it being misguided."

"I couldn't just let him burn to death."

"And that was your decision and yours alone. Now you must suffer the consequences. I warned you this wouldn't be easy; sacrifices never are, but sometimes they have to be made. Compassion can only get you so far, Chase. Learn to use it in moderation, and don't misplace it again." And as suddenly as she'd appeared, Athena was gone.

Great, now my grandmother was pissed at me. Being on Athena's bad side was the last thing I needed, but I got the feeling she was beginning to hate me as much as she hated my dad.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Lexie. "We should get going before the police and firefighters get here," she said.

I could hear sirens in the distance, and I knew she was right. Being arrested on suspicion of arson was not something I could deal with right now, so we started walking.

We'd been walking for a while with me leading the way and the other three trailing behind me. They were chit-chatting with each other, but I didn't feel like talking. And I don't know why I was leading the way; I had no clue where I was going. All I knew is that I was heading north.

"CJ, do you know where you're going?" Noah asked.

"Back to camp," I answered.

"You plan on walking all the way back to Long Island?"

I nodded, "If that's what it takes. I'm not getting back on another bus."

"Maybe we could find a different mode of transportation," Lexie suggested.

"I could steal a car," Morgan offered. Yep, she was a descendant of Hermes, no doubt about it.

"We're not stealing a car," I said.

"Well, could we at least stop and get something to eat since we'll be walking hundreds of miles?" Noah asked.

"Do we even have any money left to buy food?" Lexie asked. "All my cash was in my pack, and it's still on the bus that got hijacked."

"Yeah, what little money I had was in my bag, too," Morgan said.

Noah dug through his pockets, "I've got three bucks. How about you, CJ? You got any cash?"

I shook my head, "I've got plastic. I'll buy our food."

"Plastic?" Morgan asked. "You have a credit card?"

"It's for emergencies, only." Mom would kill me if I used it for anything other than an emergency.

Morgan looked a little shocked, "Your parents trust you with a credit card?"

"Yeah, yours don't?" Stupid question. "Never mind."

We stopped at a gas station a few miles up the road and filled up on junk food and sodas before taking off on foot again. We'd been walking for several hours before I heard the first complaint, and wouldn't you know it came from Morgan.

"My feet hurt," she grumbled.

"Mine do, too," Lexie agreed. "I wish Mrs. O'Leary was here. Then we could just shadow travel back to camp."

"What's shadow travel?" Morgan asked her, and Lexie explained the old Underworld trick as best she could.

"I wonder if my Python could do that."

Lexie shook her head, "Not likely. It has to be an Underworld creature like a hellhound or a Fury or Nico. But I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"I bet it can bend distance."

"Bend distance?" Morgan was again confused…and so was I.

"What are you talking about, Lexie?" I asked.

"Centaurs can do it, most dragons can, even the Lycaonian wolf packs can. They bend distance so they can travel fast, thousands of miles in just hours," Lexie explained.

"And you think my Python can do it?"

Lexie shrugged, "Possibly. We could try it and see. Even if he can't, at least we'll be off our feet while we travel."

I stopped in my tracks and looked straight at Lexie, "You're suggesting we ride on the back of that snake? Not this guy."

"Come on, CJ," she said. "Don't be such a baby."

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked.

"He has a phobia when it comes to snakes."

"It's not a phobia," I insisted. "I just don't like 'em."

"Well, you rode on his back when you were trying to kill him," Morgan reminded me, and I cringed at the memory.

"Once is enough."


	16. Chapter 16

16. The Great Prophecy

Final Chapter

I'm still not sure how they talked me into getting on the back of that serpent, but there I was riding a giant Python up the east coast at roughly the speed of sound. It probably would've been a really fun ride, like a 700 mile per hour rollercoaster, if I could've gotten over the fact that it was a snake that I was riding. Instead, I just wanted the trip to be over, and the thing about traveling at that speed, it was over before I knew it.

The Python slowed as it slithered down the old farm road that lead to Half-Blood Hill, and when we neared Thalia's pine, I thought Peleus was going to have a come-apart. That dragon freaked, and it took me, Lexie, and Noah to talk him down while Morgan tried to keep her pet snake calm. The two reptiles glared and hissed at one another, and I knew if they were to fight, it would be a bloodbath.

The commotion the two serpents were causing up on the hill must've alarmed camp, because horns began sounding in the valley, and armor-clad, weapon-wielding campers converged on the hill, which only made things worse. Peleus' instincts were to protect the fleece, camp, and the campers, and the Python was perceived by Peleus to be a threat to camp. The Python's instincts were to protect the Oracle, and he perceived Peleus and the campers as a threat to Morgan.

Noah told the campers to stand down. He made them retreat in an attempt to neutralize the situation while Lexie and I kept trying to assure Peleus that everything was okay. I don't know if the dragon could understand us, but we tried to keep our tone calm and reassuring, and he seemed to respond to our voices. He finally folded his wings and settled back under the tree, though he never took his eyes off the Python.

Once Peleus was pacified, the Python relaxed. Morgan continued to speak calming words to him, and I think he finally got the point that this was where she belonged, this was where she'd be safe.

"Can he come into camp?" Morgan asked about her guardian.

"We should talk to Chiron about it first," Lexie told her, and Morgan nodded in agreement.

Morgan rubbed her snakes face for a moment, then he disappeared into the trees. She turned to us, "Do I need an invitation or can I just go in?"

"You're a legacy," Lexie said. "You have godly blood, so you can come in without an invite."

The four of us crested the hill and walked into Camp Half-Blood. Now, talk about stares. You'd think we were aliens from another planet by the way everyone was gawking at us. I guess they didn't really expect us to return alive, much less successfully complete the quest. It wasn't exactly the welcome back I was expecting, but once the shock of us surviving the quest wore off, the campers threw us a party.

We had a feast for dinner where we were the guests of honor, and at the campfire that night, the Apollo campers sang songs in our honor. I guess Mr. D couldn't be bothered to attend the celebration and give a speech, so Chiron said a few flattering words about our bravery and heroism as well as introduced Morgan to all the campers. Morgan was immediately accepted by the campers, and she fit right in with the Hermes kids…the Demeter kids, not so much. I guess everyone was just glad camp finally had an Oracle now. Why else would they like her so much? She wasn't exactly a charmer…in my opinion, anyway, though, I could've been biased. My first impression of her wasn't exactly a pleasant one.

Before we were dismissed to our cabins for lights-out, Chiron informed us there'd be a head counselors meeting tomorrow morning and the four of us who returned from the quest were required to attend. Also, there would be a ceremony to initiate Morgan as the Oracle later tomorrow afternoon. That wracked my nerves a little. I told Katie I would keep an eye on Morgan, and that she'd be safe here. I gave her my word, but the spirit of the Oracle accepting Morgan as its host was something out of my control. All I could do was pray to the gods that everything would work out, and she'd be fine.

When I finally made it to cabin three to crash for the night, it was another hour or so before I fell asleep. Jade insisted on hearing every detail about the quest, even though she'd hear all about it at the counselors meeting tomorrow. Once I'd finished the story, I settled into my bunk and was out like a light. I slept the entire night without a single dream and woke up rested and refreshed for the first time in weeks. Jade said I must've been sleeping hard, because my snoring sounded like I was sawing logs.

After a cup of coffee and a biscuit for breakfast, I made my way to the Big House rec room for the meeting. A few campers were already there, including Lexie, Russ, and Noah. Jordan from the Hephaestus cabin was there, too, and she blushed when I walked in. I took a seat and watched as the rest of the head counselors arrived. I tried to remember all their names, but most escaped me. Jade took a seat beside me, and Morgan, who was one of the last to arrive, sat next to Chiron who was in his magical wheelchair. Once everyone was sitting around the ping-pong table and after Chiron made them put all their toys away like they were a group of four year olds, he called the meeting to order.

"Counselors, as you know, Chase, Lexie, and Noah were successful in retrieving our new Oracle here," Chiron smiled as he placed his hand on Morgan's shoulder, and she beamed like she was the one who had fulfilled the prophecy. "On a more chilling note, though, they encountered a new enemy with the potential to wreak havoc on all our lives."

The room filled with chatter.

"Who's this new enemy?" Russ spoke over the chatter, and the sound of his voice quieted the room.

"I'll let Chase explain," Chiron said, giving me the floor.

I told the counselors about everything that happened on the quest. Lexie was more than eager to chime in when I left something out, and Noah was sure to inform everyone if I was embellishing something. And when I came to the part about the Python destroying the warehouse, Morgan took full credit for that.

The Rebellion was what everyone was curious about, but I really didn't have that much information about them. I knew what their mission was, but I didn't know how many members they had in their militia, I didn't know where their bases were, and I didn't know exactly how they planned to carry out their mission. I knew three of their names, and that was it. Collin Barka, their leader, who could've been a mortal or a legacy, I wasn't sure, Abigail Mason, a runaway legacy, and Finn, a legacy whose first name I never caught.

"Clear-sighted mortals and legacies wanting to exterminate demigods? Sounds a little outrageous to me," said the son of Athena, whose name I couldn't remember.

Chiron nodded, "It may seem that way, and the thought of legacies wanting to kill demigods may be disturbing, but I've seen worse. Nearly two hundred years ago there was a civil war between demigods; Greeks and Romans slaughtered one another. Today that incident seems outrageous, but parricide isn't new for demigods, and I fear this may be history repeating itself, though in a slightly construed version."

"What makes you so sure, Chiron? Is this mentioned in the Great Prophecy?" Noah asked, and my heart skipped a beat. Athena confirmed the next Great Prophecy was now set in motion, and that I was the child of prophecy. Did this mean I was responsible for stopping a civil war?

Chiron looked straight at me, "It's alluded to in the prophecy."

"Chiron," Lexie said. "Can you finally tell us the entire thing? None of us know more than the first line of the Great Prophecy. If it's begun, we need to know the rest of it."

Chiron took a deep breath, "So be it.

_The cursed one with pure birthright __will sink to lows and raise to heights,_

_The mortal enemy will rock the core __of love and family with seeds of war,_

_The loss of a hero will bring to light __the need to choose: fight or flight,_

_Friend's and enemy's views must bend __or see a war without an end._"

The room was silent, but everyone was staring at me. They knew it was about me; they'd known that since I arrived at camp. The cursed one was me, to state the obvious, but now that the full scope of what I had on my shoulders was revealed, the campers really had something to stare about.

What I couldn't get out of my mind was the line about the loss of a hero. Was that referring to me or someone else? I guess Jade could tell it really bothered me, because she squeezed my hand to reassure me she was here for me, that she was my family, and she'd stick by me. It gave me some comfort, not much, but some.

"So, Jackson is the chosen one," Russ said in a tone that can only be described as disgust. "Our fates are in the hands of a mortal. That's just _perfect_."

"He's in a unique position, Russ," the son of Athena said. "He's not a demigod, so he isn't an enemy of the Rebellion. That creates a situation where he could be very influential to both sides. It gives us the opportunity to manipulate our enemy."

"Or it gives him the opportunity to become a traitor," Russ countered.

The rec room again filled with chatter, and it took Chiron a minute to regain control of the room. "We have to take this one step at a time," he said to us. "As of right now, this quest is the only time there's been an attempt on a demigods life by this group, so that tells me they've only recently become organized enough to begin their mission. I'd ask all of you to inform your cabin mates of this new development. This threat to their lives goes beyond the average monster. Tell them to be careful of whom they trust on the outside; this enemy could be anyone, anywhere. We'll discuss this further when we have more information. Until then, continue training and stay alert outside of camp. Dismissed."

As I walked out of the Big House, I felt like I was carrying an extra hundred pounds on my back, but I remembered the confidence my dad had in me. He was sure I'd be a great hero like him. And Athena said the Fates gave me this kind of life because they felt I was strong enough to live it. I didn't feel so sure, but a lot can change in a short amount of time, these past two weeks proved that. I just had to suck it up, and do what I had to do.

Lexie walked up to me and asked, "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "I'm fine."

She raised an eyebrow, "Don't lie to me."

"I'm just…just a little overwhelmed, that's all."

"It's okay to feel that way," she said. "A lot of responsibility was just put on your shoulders. If it were me, I'd be overwhelmed, too. But remember, I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. I'll help you fulfill this prophecy in any way I can."

To hear her say that, it was like the weight of the world lifted off me. I smiled at my friend, "Thanks, Lexie."

Later that afternoon, everyone gathered in the amphitheatre for Morgan's initiation ceremony…and apparently, it was a really big deal. The Aphrodite campers had decorated the theatre with a wide arrangement of flowers and torches burning in an assortment of colors. Chiron stood at a pedestal near the hearth fire, and on the pedestal was a pithos, a ceramic jar with a cork lid.

When Morgan walked into the amphitheatre, everyone fell silent and stared at the granddaughter of Hermes and Demeter. What can I say? I stared, too. She may not have been my favorite person, but that doesn't mean I didn't think she was cute, and in that flowing white dress and a crown of laurels resting on her brown curls, she was beautiful. Noah was swooning, and I felt bad for him. There he was falling head-over-heels for an Oracle, a girl he couldn't have. It must've sucked to be him.

Morgan walked up to Chiron, and he smiled, "Welcome, my dear. Are you ready to fulfill your destiny?"

She nodded, "I'm ready."

Chiron addressed us, "I'd ask everyone to remain silent throughout the ceremony as this is a delicate process."

Morgan closed her eyes and bowed her head. It wasn't long before she began to shiver like she was freezing to death. There was a flash of light, and Apollo himself appeared in the theatre. He walked up to Morgan and took her hand; her shivering ceased.

"You have the gift and curse of prophecy, Morgan Stoll. Do you truly wish to take on this burden?" Apollo asked her.

"I do," she said.

"And do you accept the risks?"

"Yes, My Lord."

Apollo smiled and kissed her hand, "Very well, we'll proceed."

Chiron said a few words in ancient Greek before taking the cork lid off the pithos. A green column of smoke swirled out of the jar like Chiron had just released a genie from a bottle.

As the smoke curled around Morgan's feet, she recited the pledge, "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."

The green cloud of smoke enveloped her, and when it disappeared, she collapsed to the stone floor. I stood up in panic. I was about to run to her, but Noah grabbed my arm to stop me. I looked at him wondering why _he_ wasn't the one running to her since he liked her so much, but he just shook his head like he knew something I didn't.

I sat back down, and Noah whispered to me, "The spirit is trying to take hold. You can't interrupt."

Even from a distance, I could see she was pale and barely breathing, but within seconds, her eyes fluttered open and she began to move. Chiron knelt down on his front legs beside her and helped her sit up, "How do you feel, child?"

"Like I got hit by a dump truck," she groaned, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to be fine.

Chiron and Apollo helped Morgan to her feet. Apollo turned to the crowd and raised his arms dramatically, "May I present to you Morgan Stoll, Oracle of Delphi."

…

As eventful as the first two weeks of camp were, the remainder of the summer was equally uneventful. I trained hard with Jason, and was able to really hone my instincts and reflexes just like he said I could, though he admitted I still needed more work and practice. I spent a lot of time hanging out with Noah, who had really become my best friend at camp, and I spent quite a bit of time with Lexie, too. She had become my official archery trainer. She said she'd make me a master archer if it killed her, and well, she wasn't dead yet, so I must've been doing alright; at least I could consistently hit the target. By the end of the summer, Morgan and I had established our relationship as one of give and take: she gave me hell, and I took it. I'd also gotten to know many of the other campers pretty well, and could finally remember just about everyone's names.

The summer had flown by, and as I packed my duffel, I was sad that it was over. I'd already said goodbye to most of my friends; I was one of the last to leave this summer. It was hard saying goodbye to them and saying goodbye to camp. I'd been so nervous to come here, but now, I wasn't ready to leave. I'd be back next summer, sure, but that was a long time from now, and I'd miss this place and all my new friends. On the bright side, though, I'd be back home with my parents who I really missed, even though I was still upset about them not telling me the prophecy. I took one last deep breath that smelled of sea spray, grabbed my duffel, and left cabin three.

I walked to the Big House where I said goodbye to Chiron, Grover, and Mr. D, then headed to the hill to wait on my ride.

Noah met me up on the hill, "Well, what'd you think of your first summer?"

"It was pretty awesome, Noah," I smiled. "And thanks for everything, man. You really helped me out a lot."

He shrugged, "Eh, it was nothin'."

A horn honked down the hill, and I looked to see my mom's silver Volvo pull in. "That's my ride."

Noah held out his hand, "See you next summer, bro. And watch your back out there. They could come after you again."

I shook my friend's hand, "I'll be careful. Take care, Noah."

I walked down the hill and met my parents who were standing outside the car. My mom grabbed me immediately, "Sweetie, I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too, Mom."

When she finally let me go, Dad draped his arm over my shoulder, "How was it, kid?"

"It was…interesting."

"I want to hear all about it," he smiled. "Oh, and nice necklace, by the way."

I touched my hand to my new bead necklace, which had a solitary clay bead on it. The bead was green with a coiled Python etched in the center. Not exactly the design I would've picked, but it was fitting.

I tossed my bag into the trunk, then climbed into the back seat of the car. Dad pulled down the road, and we headed home.

"So," Mom turned to me. "Tell us what was so interesting."

I hesitated, but I took a deep breath and said the words, "_The cursed one with pure birthright will sink to lows and raise to heights_."

My parents looked at one another with surprise and concern.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

Mom turned back to me, "It wasn't time for you to know."

Dad looked at me through the rearview mirror, "Don't feel bad, son. Your mother has this nasty habit of keeping important prophecies from the ones who really need to hear them."

"Shut-up, Percy," Mom scolded.

"Why didn't you tell me, Dad?"

Mom cut her eyes at him, and he said, "Because your mom's the boss."

I slumped down in my seat. I was so irritated with them for not telling me.

"Come on, sweetie, you can't stay angry at us forever," Mom reasoned.

I folded my arms across my chest and pouted, "Maybe not, but I'm going to be angry right now. And stop calling me sweetie."

Mom rolled her eyes and turned back forward in her seat, "Whatever you say, CJ."

**AN: I want to thank all of the readers and reviewers for taking the time to read _The Prodigal Son_ and for all the wonderful reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I hope everyone enjoyed this first installment of _Heroes and Legacies_, and I hope to see everyone back for book 2. The first chapter of _Heroes and Legacies Book 2: To Save a Parent _will be published next week, and it will be updated weekly. Chapter one of that book promises to have some action-packed father-son bonding time between Percy and CJ, so there's something to look forward to. Again, thanks for reading and for all the support. -dmac**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**


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